Bone mineral loss related to menstrual history.

We measured the bone mineral content (BMC) of the forearm in 173 normal postmenopausal women. We also examined the relation between BMC and the chronologic age, the number of years elapsed since menopause, and the total number of menstrual cycles during the reproductive years. BMC had a better linear relation to the total number of menstrual cycles than with the years elapsed since menopause or with chronologic age.