Risk of osteoporosis in smokers

The study was conducted on 2 groups including smokers group and nonsmokers control group at the outpatient clinic of Ibn Sina teaching hospital in Mosul during the period between 1/11/2010 and 1/5/2011. The first group consists of 100 subjects, and the second group also consists of 100 nonsmoker subjects matched for age and gender were kept as control group. The aim of this study was to assess whether there is an increase in the risk of osteoporosis in smokers compared to that in healthy age-matched control subjects. All the study groups were subjected to assessment of medical and drug history, measurement of weight and height to derive body mass index, biochemical tests, and dual-energy X- ray absorptiometry. The data obtained from the study revealed that smokers have a significantly increased risk of osteoporosis as compared to that in healthy age-matched control subjects, 34(34%) versus 13(13%), respectively. Most patients with osteoporosis did not receive pharmacological treatment. Age, body mass index, menopausal duration and number of cigarettes were significant independent correlates for osteoporosis.