The Association Between Bone Mineral Density and Airflow Limitation in a Cohort of Fit Elderly Women

As studies examining the association between bone mineral density (BMD) and airflow limitation (AL) have produced conflicting results, the current one set out to analyze if and to what degree there are any correlations between these variables in a population of fit elderly women. Methods: One hundred and twenty-one non-smoking, fit and healthy women (age ≥ 65 years) underwent anthropometric assessment, laboratory testing (serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D, parathormone, and cytokine levels), pulmonary function testing (PFT), and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry to evaluate BMD values of the lumbar and femoral regions. Results: A significant positive association was found between FEV1/FVC ratio (Tiffeneau index), a sensitive index of AL, and lumbar and femoral BMD; a 10 % increase in the FEV1/FVC ratio resulted in a significant increase of 0.025 g/cm2 in the total hip (p = 0.05), 0.027 g/cm2 in the femoral neck (p = 0.02), 0.028 g/cm2 in the femoral trochanter (p = 0.01), and 0.047 g/cm2 in the lumbar (p = 0.03) BMDs. Binary logistic analyses demonstrated more than a threefold higher risk of low BMD values for the lowest FEV1/FVC quartile in the lumbar (OR 4.62, 95 % CI 1.48–14.40, p = 0.008), total hip (OR 4.09, 95 % CI 1.28–13.05, p = 0.02 for the second quartile), and femoral trochanter regions (OR 3.90, 95 % CI 1.25–12.20, p = 0.02 for the third quartile). Conclusions: AL was associated with a higher risk of reduced BMD in healthy, fit elderly women