Bioelectrical impedance analyses of patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis

Body composition undergoes changes with aging and menopause. This study was planned to investigate the body composition in postmenopausal women. Total lean, fat mass and total body BMD were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). All subjects with a T-score less than - 1.5 were called the patient group. Total lean, fat mass and other components of body composition were also assessed by bioelectrical impedance (BIA). Demographical and physical characteristics were recorded for each subject. Total lean mass was significantly lower and fat mass was higher in the patient group than in healthy controls ( p < 0.05). BMD values were positively correlated with lean mass ( r = 0.336, p < 0.05). There were no significant differences between patients and healthy controls with regard to body composition measured by DXA and BIA ( p < 0.05). These findings suggest that there is a difference between postmenopausal women with osteopenia/osteoporosis and healthy controls with regard to fat and lean mass. Total lean mass may be an important determinant of BMD in postmenopausal women. BIA might be an alternative method to DXA for the measurement of total body fat and lean mass.