Prevalence of osteoporosis, serum vitamin D and serum calcium deficiency cases among women: A hospital based retrospective study

Introduction: Osteoporosis is a disorder of the bones characterized by low bone mass.One out of three women in India suffers from osteoporosis. Vitamin D deficiency prevails as an epidemic in India and a formidable issue. The present study was done to estimate prevalence of osteoporosis rates among women and correlation of BMD with serum vitamin D and calcium levels. Materials and Methods: The present retrospective study was conducted on162 women who attended orthopedic OPD at KLE's hospital, Belagavi.Cases were evaluated for serum 25 (OH) vitamin D, serum calcium and bone mineral density by DEXA (Lumbar spine) scan.Data analyzed by SPSS version 20. Results: Results of our study showed 54.3% of women were osteoporotic, 26.5% were osteopenic and 19.1% were having a normal BMD. The highest hypovitaminosis D was seen in 60 above age group. There was a significant and positive correlation between BMD scores with vitamin D (r=0.6644, p=0.0001) and calcium (r=0.5974, p=0.0001)at 5% level was observed. A statistically significant association was found between age group and BMD (chi-square=14.9597, p=0.0004), and serum vitamin D status in women (chi-square=11.8052, p=0.0189). Further, multiple linear regression analysis indicated, the influence of vitamin D and calcium on BMD is positive and significant (t=35.2502, p=0.0001). Conclusion: Serum vitamin D and calcium were the significant predictors of BMD in women. It was compelling to observe age was an important factor for high prevalence of low BMD.Hence, prevention and early detection of hypovitaminosis D and hypocalcemia is the key to reduce the incidence of osteoporosis among women.