[Retrospective study of the relationship of height difference and bone density of postmenopausal women].

OBJECTIVE To analyze the relationship of the height difference and bone density (BD) of premenopausal and postmenopausal women. METHODS The height values of 191 premenopausal and postmenopausal women were recorded, and the BD values of lumbar vertebrae and hip were detected by double energy X-ray BD detector. RESULTS The lower the height of the postmenopausal women, the less the BD value. The BD of lumbar vertebrae dropped 0.025 5 g/cm(2) with each 2 cm of the shortened height, and the BD of hip joint dropped 0.029 2 g/cm(2). The shortened value in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis was statistically greater than that in postmenopausal women without osteoporosis. CONCLUSION The BD of the postmenopausal women can be estimated by the calculation of their shortened height value.