Bone Mineral Density and Prevalence of Osteoporosis in Postmenopausal Korean Women with Low-Energy Distal Radius Fractures

The aim of this study was to evaluate the bone mineral density and the prevalence of osteoporosis in postmenopausal Korean women with low-energy distal radius fractures and compared with those of aged-matched normal Korean women. Two hundred and six patients with distal radius fractures between March 2006 and March 2010 were included in this study. Patients were divided into three groups by age; group 1 (50-59 years), group 2 (60-69 years), and group 3 (70-79 years). Controls were age-matched normal Korean women. The bone mineral density values at all measured sites, except for the spine, were significantly lower in group 1 than those of control. While the bone mineral density values in group 2 and 3 were lower than those of controls, these differences were not statistically significant. All groups had significantly higher prevalence of osteoporosis at the Ward's triangle; however, at the spine, femoral neck and trochanteric area it was not significantly different from those of age-matched controls. Although the prevalence of osteoporosis of the postmenopausal women with low-energy distal radius fractures may not be higher than that of the control, osteoporosis should be evaluated especially in younger postmenopausal patients to prevent other osteoporotic hip and/or spine fractures.