%0 Journal Article
%T Association of bone mineral density with postural stability and the fear of falling in Spanish postmenopausal women
%J Maturitas
%D 2014
%A Hita-Contreras, Fidel
%A López, Emilio Martínez
%A Matarín, Pedro José González
%A Guevara, Nicolás Mendoza Ladrón de
%A Cruz-Díaz, David
%A Ruiz-Ariza, Alberto
%A Martínez-Amat, Antonio
%V 79
%N 3
%P 322-328
%X OBJECTIVE The purpose of our study was to investigate the relationship between bone mineral density (BMD) and postural stability and the fear of falling in a 50- to 65-year-old postmenopausal population. Study design A cross-sectional, observational study was conducted on 118 postmenopausal women. According to their BMD values, participants were divided into two groups: BMD > −2.0 SD (n = 95) and ≤−2.0 SD (n = 23). Main outcome measures: Postural stability, assessed with a resistive multi-sensor platform, fear of falling (FoF) and the history of falls in the last 12 months were investigated. <br><br>RESULTS Women with BMD ≤ −2.0 SD reported a significantly increased FoF when compared to women with BMD > −2.0 SD (P = 0.024, η2 = 0.045, 1 − β = 0.624). In the postural stability analysis, the group with BMD ≤ − 2.0 SD showed, under the eyes-open condition, statistically significantly higher values for the velocity (VEO) (P = 0.040, η2 = 0.037, 1 − β = 0.539) and the anteroposterior mean displacement of the center of pressure (YEO; P = 0.017, η2 = 0.049, 1 − β = 0.669). No significant differences between groups were observed in the history of falls or in the rest of the stabilometric analyses. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS In Spanish postmenopausal women under 65 years, a BMD ≤ −2.0 SD is significantly associated with postural instability (elevated VEO and XEO) and an increased FoF, which are two highly influential factors in the risk of falling.<p/>
%G en
%I Elsevier Publishing
%@ 0378-5122
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.maturitas.2014.07.015