Bone mineral status of Polish men in the course of normal ageing.

Age-related changes in the bone mineral content (BMC) of men are conditioned by both genetic and environmental factors distinctive for particular populations. This results in considerable differences between various populations concerning the prevalence of osteopenia and osteoporosis, and the occurrence of normal variability in BMC among adult and elderly men. The aim of the study was to evaluate the variation of BMC with age in an ethnically homogenous sample of 405 healthy men, aged 20-60 years, all occupationally active inhabitants of the city of Wroclaw, Lower Silesia, Poland. Trabecular and total BMC at the ultradistal radius of the nondominant hand were assessed by peripheral quantitative computerized tomography using the Stratec 960 densitometer. Among Polish men a distinct phase of maximal BMC values (around the age of 30) was distinguished, with a subsequent, quite rapid decline in bone mass. For example, the peak value of trabecular BMC decreased by approximately 13.2% per decade. In Polish men up to 30-34 years old trabecular and total BMC even exceeded reference values by 10%; however, from 35 years onwards their BMC was lower than standard values. This unfavourable phenomenon of BMC decline was augmented with age, and finally BMC values in men aged 55 and over were 30-35% lower than reference values. The significant discrepancies found between the data presented in this study and reference values probably result from inter-populational differences in the lifestyles of healthy ageing men. The results also confirm that bone density (with its age-related changes in the course of normal male ageing) is one of the biological features characteristic of this particular regional population.

Variation in body mass index among Polish adults: effects of sex, age, birth cohort, and social class.

Variation in the body mass index (BMI) among occupationally active inhabitants of one Polish urban center was studied by means of a three-factor ANOVA. The material is cross-sectional and comprises 32,750 men and women aged 22-60 years, examined in five successive surveys between 1983-1999. The factors considered in each sex were: 1) age category, 2) year of examination, and 3) social class. The increase of BMI with age is markedly greater among women than among men. No sustained intergeneration trend towards increased BMI was detectable in either sex. The BMI means rise regularly with decreasing position on the social scale in both sexes, but this effect is much more dramatic in women. The latter finding suggests that the condition of being situated low on the social scale is conducive to growth of fatness with age, markedly more so in women than in men. The absence of a secular trend in BMI means during the period considered contrasts with results reported for a number of other countries. This finding is intriguing, because Poland underwent abrupt and profound socio-economic transformation in the early 1990s.

[Bone mineral density of adults living in the city of Wroclaw compared with the reference ranges]. / Gestosc mineralna koscca obwodowego doroslych mieszkanców Wroclawia na tle wartosci referencyjnych aparatu STRATEC 960.

Certain elements of lifestyles (distinctive for the particular population) are presumed to influence on bone metabolism. This fact results in considerable differences between various populations, concerning both the occurrence of the normal variability of BMD (bone mineral content) among adult and elderly men and women, and also the prevalence of osteopenia or osteoporosis. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the variability of BMD in a group of healthy and occupationally active inhabitants of the city of Wroclaw, Poland (426 men aged 20-59 and 1218 women aged 20-62) and to compare our results with the reference ranges provided by the producer of the Stratec 960 apparatus. Trabecular and total BMD at the distal radius of the nondominant hand were assessed by peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography (pQCT) using the Stratec 960 apparatus. BMD of Polish men and women significantly differ from the reference ranges of Stratec 960. The unfavourable phenomenon of the greater BMD decline with age, as compared to the standard values provided by the producer of the device, occurred. It should also be stressed that this reduction is more intense with age and it is marked among men older than 36. Taking into consideration the fact, that our material comprises only occupationally active subjects, the revealed differences would be probably greater, if they were evaluated in Polish population as a whole (our sample does not include persons, who are retired from the healthy conditions). Considering those significant discrepancies between our data and the Stratec reference population, one should be careful when using the normative database provided by Stratec for the densitometric diagnosis of osteoporosis among Polish women and men. Additionally the present study reveals that BMD (and its age-related changes during normal aging) is one of the features characteristic for the particular regional population, which is due to inter-populational differences of those elements of lifestyle, which can influence both general health condition and bone mineral density.

Variation in the body mass index among young adult Polish males between 1965 and 1995.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the incidence of overweight and underweight individuals among young adults showed inter-generation changes or social-class differences in Poland between the mid-1960s and mid-1990s. DESIGN: Comparisons of variation in the body mass index and in height among 19-y-old Polish males drawn from three successive birth cohorts. SUBJECTS: Three 10% nation wide random samples of 19-y-old Polish conscripts, examined in 1965, 1986 and 1995, a total of ca. 80,000 individuals. MEASUREMENTS: Body mass index (weight (kg)/height (m2) and height (m). PRINCIPAL RESULT: There has been during the three decades between the mid-1960s and mid-1990s a gradual and significant increase in the proportion of both 'overweight' and of 'underweight' young males, as well as of the very tall and very short ones in the population. CONCLUSION: The above finding seems intriguing. It may suggest that certain elements of individual lifestyles, those influencing the leanness vs fatness variation among young adults, as well as those affecting growth in height, have tended to become in Poland increasingly diversified in terms of between-family differences, irrespective of social-class differences and of the general nationwide changes in living standards.

Variation in bone mineral density in adults in Poland: age and sex differences.

The decline of mineral bone density with age can lead in more extreme cases to osteopenia and osteoporosis, and is therefore one of the aspects of ageing with great medical and social significance. With this idea in mind a study of age changes in the trabecular and, separately, the cortical bone density of the radius was carried out in 1218 females and 405 males, aged 22 to 60 years, all occupationally active inhabitants of the city of Wroclaw, Poland. The technique used was the peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography (pQCT). It was found that in females bone densities remain relatively stable throughout the period between 22 and 40 years. They then begin to decline slowly, with a rapid decline after the age of 55. A distinctly different pattern was found among males, with bone densities reaching peak values, markedly higher than those in females, in the third decade of life. After this age the bone density values begin to decline at a rapid rate, so that by the age of 60 years mean trabecular and cortical densities in males have decreased to levels almost equivalent to females of equal age. In view of the small size of the male samples, especially in the older age classes, the above results should be treated with caution and confirmed using larger samples.

Relationships between age-related changes of sex steroids, obesity and body fat distribution among healthy Polish males.

During the process of aging in males a trend toward an unfavourable body fat accumulation, especially within the visceral depots, is observed. This fact is presumed to be associated with the age-related decline in androgen levels among aging men. The aim of this study was to determine the relationships between sex steroid levels (DHEAS, estradiol, free and total testosterone) and BMI, percent fat mass, WHR values in 190 healthy and professionally active men, aged 22-67, inhabitants of the city of Wroclaw, Poland. Hormonal levels were measured using standard immunoassays. BMI was used as a measurement of obesity. Obesity was also assessed using percent fat mass equations according to the Crook formula. WHR was used as an index of fat distribution. All the correlations between sex steroids, BMI, WHR, percent fat mass and age were evaluated using statistical non-parametric analyses (Spearman coefficient) in the entire group of examined subjects, and in two age-specific groups: a) younger males (aged 22-39) and b) older males (aged 40-67). The aging of Polish males is accompanied by both a significant increase of BMI, percent fat mass and WHR values, and by a decline in estradiol, gonadal and adrenal androgen levels. In the younger group only total testosterone levels were significantly negatively related to BMI, percent fat mass and WHR. Within the group of older men both estradiol and DHEAS levels are significantly positively related to WHR. The sex steroids seem to be associated with indices of overall obesity and distribution of fat in men, but these relationships differ considerably when they are evaluated in younger and older age categories. Worthy of notice is the fact that free testosterone levels are not related to any anthropometric parameters in any age category, although free testosterone (not total testosterone) is commonly recognised as a reliable and sensitive endocrinological indicator of the general psycho-physical status of an aging man.

Fitness of professionals and skilled workers in Poland.

Simple measures of the biological fitness of adult men aged 25-65 years, inhabitants of the city of Wroclaw, Poland, were studied in two well-defined social groups: professionals and skilled workers. It was found that the manual workers, compared to professionals, have higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure, lower relative vital capacity, inferior flexibility of spine, poorer eye-hand co-ordination, and poorer hearing acuity. These social differences appear consistently at each age level between 25 and 65 years and tend to increase with age to the disadvantage of skilled workers.