Low Bone Mineral Density May Predict Stroke Risk in Women

January 12, 2001

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WESTPORT, CT (Reuters Health) Jan 10 - In stroke patients, low bone mineral

density (BMD) is prevalent among women, but not among men, and may therefore be

predictive of stroke among women, according to a report by researchers from the

University of Tromso, Norway.

Noting that the study findings confirm known data for women, the researchers

believe that their study contains the first information on BMD and stroke in

men.

Dr. Torgeir Engstad and colleagues evaluated 63 stroke patients, 60 years of age

and older, 33 of whom were women and 30 men. In addition, they included 188

controls from the general population. BMD measurements were obtained for all

subjects. For the stroke patients, the measurements were taken 6 days after the

onset of the stroke, according to the investigators' report in the January issue

of Stroke.

BMD analysis revealed that among women with stroke, the BMD at the femoral neck

was 8% lower than among controls. However, for men there were no differences in

BMD between stroke patients and controls, Dr. Engstad's group notes. For women

whose BMD was in the lowest quartile, they found that the risk of stroke was

higher than for women whose BMD was in the highest quartile (odds ratio 4.8).

In addition, the odds ratio for stroke increased " 1.9 per standard deviation

(0.13 g/cm squared) reduction in BMD " among women. Dr. Engstad and colleagues

also found that the association between BMD and stroke in women remained

significant even after they adjusted for potential confounders.

" At present it is unclear whether low BMD actually increases the risk of stroke

or reflects poor health with both high stroke risk and low BMD, " Dr. Engstad's

group points out. " In any case, because female stroke patients have a low BMD

(for whatever the reason), this emphasizes even more the need for an aggressive

attitude in poststroke rehabilitation. "

Stroke 2001;32:47-51.

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