Prevalence of osteoporosis in Australian women: Geelong osteoporosis study

Abstract

To evaluate the prevalence of osteoporosis at various sites among Australian women, cross-sectional bone mineral density (BMD) data for adult females was obtained from an age-stratified population-based sample (n = 1494; 20-94 yr) drawn at random from the Barwon Statistical Division, a population characteristic of Australia. Age- and weight- (and for three sites, height) matched reference ranges for BMD at the lumbar spine, proximal femur, forearm, and total body were developed using regression techniques. The cutoff BMD level for osteoporosis at the PA spine was 0.917 g/cm2 and 0.713 g/cm2 at the femoral neck according to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. The upper cutoff leve..