Comparison of Quality of Life and Bone Mass Density among Postmenopausal Women: A Cross-sectional Study

BACKGROUND: Postmenopausal women are at highest risk of developing osteoporosis, since their bone mineral density is reduced due to decrease in estrogen level. Various other physiological, emotional, and psychological changes jeopardize the health of these vulnerable females in total and reduce their quality of life (QoL). AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To compare the QoL and bone mass density (BMD) among normal BMD, osteopenic, and osteoporotic postmenopausal women. SETTING AND DESIGN: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted in the outpatient department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at a tertiary care center of northern India from August 2019 to February 2020. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Baseline sociodemographic characteristics of all postmenopausal women were collected using a quantitative tool. Assessment of QoL was done by pretested and validated QUALEFFO-41 scale. For all the women, a bone mineral densitometry test was performed on the L1–L4 lumbar spine, femoral neck, and forearm by the dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry method. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: One-way ANOVA test was used to compare the mean BMD values across the three groups. Determination of predictive factors for QoL was performed using stepwise logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Significant differences were noted for the mean values of the three domains, i.e., pain, physical, and social function (P < 0.01). Women with osteoporosis had significantly higher pain scores as compared to others. Among those with osteoporosis, the pain scores have significantly increased gradually as age increases. CONCLUSION: Postmenopausal women with osteopenia and osteoporosis have poor QoL as compared to those with normal BMD.