Bone Health Assessed by Calcaneal Quantitative Ultrasound among Cohort of Pregnant Egyptian Women

AIM: The aim was to assess the risk of osteopenia and osteoporosis and to identify possible risk factors affecting bone density (BD) during pregnancy as parity, body mass index (BMI), Vitamin D, and calcium supplementation using quantitative ultrasound (QUS) of the calcaneus among first- and third-trimester pregnant women. METHODS: It is a case–control study conducted at Ain Shams Maternity Hospital, Egypt, from May 7 to December 14, 2015. One hundred and thirty-two women in the third trimester and 33 matched controls in the first trimester were screened for BD at the calcaneus by QUS. Stiffness index (SI), QUS-T, and Z scores were measured. RESULTS: Comparing both the groups regarding QUS-T score, Z score, and SI showed a statistically significant difference between both groups. Third-trimester participants had lower scores (−0.72 ± 1.0, −0.63 ± 0.99, and 88.53 ± 14.81, respectively) compared to their matched controls (1.05 ± 0.89, 1.16 ± 0.91, and 113.79 ± 12.49, respectively). According to QUS-T scores, 82 women (62.1%) in the third-trimester group were assessed as having normal BD, whereas 47 women (35.6%) were at risk of being osteopenic and 3 women (2.3%) were at risk of being osteoporotic. All women of the first trimester were assessed as having normal BD. Logistic regression was performed to identify possible risk factors affecting BD among third-trimester patients. BMI was the only statistically significant predictor for changes in bone health in those women (P = 0.001, odds ratio: 0.857, 95% confidence interval: 0.786–0.936). CONCLUSION: With one-unit rise in BMI, a 14% reduction in risk of decreased bone health is obtained.