Prevalence of osteoporotic vertebral fracture in Spanish women over age 45.

The aim of this work is to study the prevalence of osteoporotic vertebral fractures in Spanish women over 45 years of age, based on the selection of a nationwide sample. An observational, cross-sectional, multicenter study was conducted during 2006, in all of Spain's regions. The sample analyzed was of 5000 individuals, representative of the female population over age 45 in Spain. A questionnaire was used to determine which factors are most often associated with vertebral fractures. We also assessed whether the Prevalent Vertebral Fracture Index, proposed by Vogt, is useful in indicating a possible osteoporotic vertebral fracture. Five hundred orthopedic surgeons, from various Spanish regions, were trained in different aspects of the study: inclusion and exclusion criteria, management of the risk factor questionnaire, and implementation of the Vogt questionnaire. The number of fracture cases was 1549 (31.79%). 528 Women (34.08%) had a single vertebral fracture, and 1021 (65.92%) had multiple vertebral fractures. The following factors were statistically significantly associated with vertebral fracture: age, late menarche, early menopause, diabetes mellitus, hyperparathyroidism, rheumatoid arthritis, height loss, daily physical activity, corticosteroid therapy, personal history of osteoporotic fracture and previous diagnosis of osteoporosis. The differences in Vogt score according to age and fracture status were statistically significant. The conclusion of the study is that vertebral osteoporotic fracture in the female Spanish population is frequent. The high prevalence in the Spanish population older than 60 years is probably related to malnutrition in the period from 1936 to 1952.