Analysis of kyphosis, vertebral fracture and bone mineral density measurement in women living in nursing homes

OBJECTIVES: To analyze the relationship between vertebral fracture, degree of kyphosis, and BMD in women living in nursing homes. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was carried out in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Hitit University Hospital, Corum, Turkey, between January 2014 and January 2015. Of the 126 female patients who participated in the study, 48 lived in nursing homes (nursing-home-group [NHG]), 78 lived in non-nursing home settings (control-group [CG]). Vertebral fractures were evaluated via the semi-quantitative Genant method. Cases in which a Cobb angle measured 40 degrees or more resulted in a diagnosis of kyphosis. RESULTS: The mean age of participants in the NHG was 77.2±7.6 years and 76.8±6.2 years in the CG (p>0.05). The kyphosis rate in the NHG was found to be higher at 52.1% compared to 27.7% for the CG (p<0.001). In the NHG, 68.7% had osteoporosis, 31.3% had osteopenia; in the CG, 55.2% had osteoporosis, 32% had osteopenia, 12.8% had normal values (p<0.05).The vertebral fracture rate was 37.5% in the NHG and 24.3% in the CG (p>0.05). The Cobb angle had correlation with the number of fractures in both groups (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The osteoporosis and kyphosis rates of women living in NHG were higher than those of women living in CG. As kyphosis and the number of fractures are correlated, it is important to analyze kyphosis in women residing in NHG.