effects of multiparity and duration of breast-feeding on maternal bone mineral density in post-menopausal kurdish women: a retrospective study

introduction:there is considerable amount of controversy about the long term effects of multiparity and duration of breast-feeding on maternal bone mineral density after menopause. this study was conducted to determine whether multiple pregnancy and prolonged duration of breast-feeding are independent predictors of low bone mass in post-menopausal kurdish women. methods: in a retrospective study, we evaluated 991 post-menopausal women with mean age of 58.9 years screened for osteoporosis by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (dxa). according to the parity (1-2, 3-4, 5-7, >7 children) and total duration of breast-feeding (1-24, 25-60, 61-96, >96 months) they were classified. bone mineral density (bmd) results for femoral neck and lumbar spine were classified into three groups (normal, osteopenia, and osteoporosis) according to the who criteria. binary logistic regression was used to assess the independent associations of low femur or spine bmd with parity and total duration of breast-feeding. results: we found that women with 5 or more children and having more than 60 months history of total breast-feeding, were older (p