Bone mineral density in French Canadian women

This cross-sectional study investigated bone mineral density (BMD) at the l umbar spine (L2-4) and femoral neck in French Canadian women residing in th e Quebec city area. Data collection was initiated in 1988 and completed in 1994. A total of 747 French Canadian Caucasian women (16-79 years of age) w ith no metabolic bone disease were evaluated. BMD measurements were obtaine d using dual-photon absorptiometry (DPA) or dual-energy X-ny absorptiometry (DXA). Anthropometric measures such as weight, height and body mass index (BMI) were recorded. Medical files provided information on demographic char acteristics, hormonal profile and lifestyle habits. Results show a curvilin ear trend of BMD with aging. Furthermore, the peak BMD at the lumbar spine (L2-4) was reached at 29 years followed by a stable phase until 35 years, a fter which BMD started to decrease. The pattern of bone evolution at the fe moral neck was different, peak BMD being achieved earlier, at 21 years, whi le after age 26 years a significant decrease was already observed. Women ol der than 60 pears showed the lowest BMD. Regression analysis showed that ag e, weight and height are determinants of BMD at the lumbar spine and explai ned 33.9% of inter-individual variation. At the femoral neck, 29.1% of vari ation was explained by age and height only. In conclusion, our data suggest that French Canadian women have a different pattern of bone loss at the fe moral neck compared with thr lumbar spine, according to their mean BMD valu es.