BONE-MINERAL DENSITY OF THE TOTAL-BODY AND FOREARM IN PREMENOPAUSAL BLACK-AND-WHITE WOMEN

This study was conducted to report and compare bone mineral density (B MD) of the total body and distal forearm, as measured by X-ray absorpt iometry, in 65 black and 73 white premenopausal women between the ages of 20 and 40, The black women had higher current and recalled body we ights, a higher percent body fat, and more pregnancies and births, wer e younger at menarche, and reported lower alcohol intakes than the whi te women studied, A smaller percent of the black women had experienced amenorrhea, and a higher percent had lived at southern latitudes, Smo king history and lifetime use of oral contraceptives were similar in t he two groups, Total body BMD, adjusted for body mass index (BMI), was 5.9% higher in the black than in the white women [mean +/- standard d eviation (SD): 1.230 +/- 0.076 g/cm(2) compared with 1.161 +/- 0.075; difference (95% confidence interval [CI95]: 0.068 (0.042, 0.095)], For earm BMD, adjusted for BMI, was 9.3% higher in the black women [mean /- SD: 0.505 +/- 0.046 compared with 0.462 +/- 0.045; difference (CI95 ): 0.043 (0.027, 0.059)], Adjustment for the other medical and lifesty le differences noted before had little effect on estimated BMD differe nces between the two groups.