RESUMEN
PURPOSE: To evaluate the relationship between height change, osteoporosis risk factors, and bone mineral density. SAMPLE: Secondary data collected on 168 healthy women, ages 50 to 65 years, who had a dual energy x-ray absorptiometry screening of the hip and spine to determine bone mineral density. METHOD: A quantitative secondary analysis of data that replicated in part a study by Hunt (1996). FINDINGS: The relationships between height change, osteoporosis risk factors, and bone mineral density were not significant for this group of healthy postmenopausal women. However, these women did not meet daily minimum requirements for dietary calcium intake and daily exercise. IMPLICATIONS: The good news is that healthy women ages 50 to 65 years still have time to engage in osteoporosis preventing behaviors to prevent bone loss and eventual height loss. The use of measured height change, as an indicator for osteoporosis risk, is a cost-saving tool and should be considered as one component of a comprehensive osteoporosis health appraisal incorporating daily calcium intake and exercise. Further research, with more precise measurement of height, needs to be done to evaluate the relationship between height change, osteoporosis risk factors, and bone mineral density.
