Bone mineral density in postmenopausal women with and without breast cancer

SummaryObjectiveThe values of bone mineral density (BMD) were compared in postmenopausal women with and without breast cancer.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted, including 51 breast cancer survivors (BCS) and 71 women without breast cancer, who were non-users of hormone therapy, tamoxifen, or aromatase inhibitors. BMD T-scores and measurements in grams per centimeter squared (g/cm2) were obtained at the femoral neck, trochanter, Ward's triangle, and lumbar spine. Osteopenia and osteoporosis were grouped and categorized as abnormal BMD. Unconditional logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the odds ratios (OR) of abnormal BMD values as measures of association, with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusting for age, years since menopause, parity, and body mass index (BMI).ResultsThe mean age of the women with and without breast cancer was 54.7±5.8 years and 58.2±4.8 years (p<0.01), respectively. After adjusting for age, parity and BMI, abnormal BMD at the femoral neck (adjusted OR: 4.8; 95% CI: 1.5–15.4), trochanter (adjusted OR: 4.6; 95% CI: 1.4–15.5), and Ward's triangle (adjusted OR: 4.5; 95% CI: 1.5–12.9) were significantly more frequent in postmenopausal BCS than in women without breast cancer. Postmenopausal BCS had a significantly lower mean BMD at the trochanter (0.719 vs. 0.809 g/cm2, p