Associations between body composition and vertebral fracture risk in postmenopausal women.

Introduction: Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disease with low bone mineral density (BMD) and high incidence of vertebral fractures (VFs). Postmenopausal women with osteoporosis have decreased total fat and lean mass. This study aimed to investigate the associations between body composition and VF risk and explore the potential predictor of VF risk in postmenopausal women.

Methods: Enrolled 731 postmenopausal women were referred by various departments and outpatient clinics to assess vertebral status between October 2016 and November 2017. The main measures were total body lean mass, fat mass, and BMD. Patients were divided into osteopenia, osteoporosis, and normal groups based on T-scores. Logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate associations between body composition parameters and VF.

Results: VF was significantly associated with increased age, lower height, and lighter weight in all participants, and higher BMI was observed in VF participants. Participants in the osteoporosis group were older and had lower height, weight, and BMD than those in normal and osteopenia groups. Femoral and total hip T-scores as well as T-scores for lumbar spine were significantly lower in participants with VF than in non-VF participants. Percentage of bone mass was also significantly lower in VF participants compared to that of non-VF participants. Women with increased BMD and lower bone mass had reduced odds for VF occurrence. Bone mass was significantly able to identify VF occurrence.

Conclusions: Body composition analysis discerns differences in the bone status of postmenopausal women with and without VF. The cutoff value of the bone mass might be used effectively as an indicator of risk for VF occurrence.