KYPHOSIS IN OLDER WOMEN AND ITS RELATION TO BACK PAIN, DISABILITY ANDOSTEOPENIA - THE STUDY OF OSTEOPOROTIC FRACTURES

To test the hypothesis that thoracic kyphosis is associated with subst antial pain, disability, and height loss, we measured thoracic curvatu re, using an architect's flexicurve, of 610 women aged 65-91 years who were recruited from population-based listings. We assessed study subj ects for back pain, back-related disability, height loss since age 25 years, perceived state of health, and bone mineral density (BMD) at th e spine, calcaneus, proximal radius, and distal radius. Compared with the rest of the cohort, the 10% of women with the most severe kyphosis had 7%-17% lower BMD (p<0.001) and had lost an additional 2.4 cm heig ht (p<0.001). However, kyphotic women had no greater back pain, disabi lity caused by back problems, or poorer health. This cross-sectional s tudy suggests that kyphosis is associated with decreased BMD and loss of height but does not cause substantial chronic back pain, disability , or poor health in older women.