Bone mineral density in adults in Taiwan: Results of the Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan 2005-2008 (NAHSIT 2005-2008)

Osteoporosis is one of the most prevalent global health problems in the elderly. A nationwide representative sample of 1121 adult subjects, aged 19 years and older, were scanned by a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in the third survey year of Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan 2005-2008. There was an apparent gender difference in the trend of bone mineral density (BMD) with age. In males, the decrease in BMD with age at lumbar spine and at femoral neck were statistically significant in those younger than 50 years, whereas the decrease in BMD at forearm was significant only in those aged 50 years and older (β= -0.005, p<0.0001). In females there was a significant negative correlation between BMD at femoral neck and age (β= -0.004, p<0.0001). In the 236 subjects aged 50 years and older, the prevalence rates of osteoporosis were 4.3% at lumbar spine, 12.0% at femoral neck, and 11.6% at forearm in males, and 12.6% at lumbar spine, 18.1% at femoral neck, and 25.0% at forearm in females, respectively. The prevalence rates of osteoporosis at any site were 23.9% in males and 38.3% in females, respectively. The prevalence rates of low bone mass at lumbar spine, femoral neck, and forearm were 28.8%, 57.5%, and 22.7% in males and 34.7%, 45.9%, and 26.1% in females, respectively. Effective measures to maintain bone health and/or to reduce excessive bone loss may be important in the prevention of osteoporotic fractures in Taiwanese adults.