Skip to main content
Log in

Occupational Activity and Bone Mineral Density in Postmenopausal Women in England

Osteoporosis International Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract:

Few studies have assessed the relationship between occupational activity and bone mineral density (BMD), although two case–control studies have reported a protective effect of occupational activity on hip fracture. In the present study 580 postmenopausal women aged 45–61 years completed a risk factor questionnaire including a detailed occupational history. For each job, hours spent sitting, standing, walking, lifting and carrying were recorded; these measures, evaluated at ages 20, 30, 40 years, in the current job and over the working lifetime, were used in the analysis. BMD was measured with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and measurements at five sites were used in a multiple regression analysis adjusting for potential confounding variables. There was a significant negative association between sitting at age 20 years and BMD at the radius (p= 0.037), with negative relationships of borderline significance at the anteroposterior spine (p = 0.091) and whole body (p= 0.078). There were significant positive associations between standing at age 30 years and BMD at all five sites (p<0.05), but no significant linear associations for standing at ages 20 and 40 years. No significant associations were found for lifetime or current occupational measures of sitting, standing, walking and lifting or carrying. The lack of consistency of these significant findings suggests that they may have occurred by chance, and that occupational activity has little if any effect on BMD in postmenopausal women.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Additional information

Received: 12 March 1999 / Accepted: 17 September 1999

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Coupland, C., Grainge, M., Cliffe, S. et al. Occupational Activity and Bone Mineral Density in Postmenopausal Women in England . Osteoporos Int 11, 310–315 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/s001980070119

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s001980070119

Navigation