RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To find the value of the bone mass measured by ultrasonics in pre- and postmenopausal women. DESIGN: A descriptive study of a crossover type. SETTING: Primary Care, Tórtola Health Centre, Valladolid. PATIENTS: Women over 35 assigned to Tórtola HC selected at random with age stratification. Sample of 266 women. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Determination of the bone mass through BUA ultrasonics technique: UBA 575 Walker Sonix. BUA Value in the sample: 70.77 +/- 15.57 dB/MHz. Proportion of values below that expected from the reference values: 9.02% +/- 0.02. Statistically significant differences were found among the different age groups, with BUA values lower in older patients. The accumulated percentage of fall in the BUA value in the 35 to 86 age range was 24.26%. The BUA value in pre-menopausal women was 76.61 +/- 13.23 dB/MHz and 65.10 +/- 15.57 dB/MHz in post-menopausal women, with a statistically significant difference (p < 0.01), which remained significant even when the variables (age, no childbirth, size and ICM) were considered. The percentage of fall of the BUA value in the first ten years after the menopause was 15.04%. CONCLUSIONS: The structural bone values measured in our sample, using an easily-managed portable ultrasonic bone analyser, presented falls linked to age and to the menopause, independently of any other variables studied.