Effect of Smoking, Alcohol Consumption and Obesity on Bone Metabolism: A Study on Post-Menopausal North-Cypriot Women

BACKGROUND/AIMS: With the aging population world-wide, osteoporosis became a major public health problem.Many factors, including body-mass index, hormonal factors, calcium and vitamin D intake, smoking habits and alcohol consumption are addressed in the etiology of osteoporosis.This study aimed to evaluate the effect of these factors on osteoporosis, in a group of post-menopausal North Cypriot women.MATERIALS AND METHODS: 241 post-menopausal North Cypriot women were included to the study.The height and weight of the patients were recorded, body-mass index was calculated for each patient.T scores and bone mineral density of the femoral neck and total femur were recorded.Patients were questioned about their history of oral contraceptive use, alcohol consumption and smoking habits.RESULTS: Patients' ages were between 36-84 years (mean 61.5+/-9.11),and BMI was between 16.8 kg/m2 and 47.4 kg/m2(28.55+/-5.26kg/m2).Mean T scores at femoral neck and total femur were-1.06+/-0.96and -0.86+/-1.01,respectively.Mean BMD at femoral neck and total femur were 0.839+/-0.115kg/m2 and 0.880+/-0.122,respectively.There was a statistically significant correlation between age and T Score and BMD of the femoral neck,and T Score and BMD of total femur.There was a statistically significant correlation between BMI and femoral neck T Score and BMD of the femoral neck.There was a statistically significant correlation between BMI and total femur T Score and BMD of total femur.No statistically significant difference was detected in the mean T Scores and BMD value between the groups regarding the use of oral contraceptives and smoking or alcohol consumption.CONCLUSION: Our results show that obesity has a positive effect on bone mineral density in post-menopausal North Cypriot women.Smoking, alcohol consumption, hormonal factors showed no effect on osteoporosis in our study group.Further studies on larger patient groups might be helpful to understand the impact of these factors on bone health.