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Blood Pressure and
Bone Mineral Density in Women
Sigal Kaplan, BPharm
School of Pharmacy, University of Maryland, Baltimore
Osteoporosis imposes a substantial burden, especially in women who experience significant bone mass loss after the onset of menopause. The consequences of osteoporosis on morbidity and mortality have led researchers to investigate many possible risk factors associated with osteoporosis. The lack of comprehensive research available on the role of blood pressure in determining bone mineral density (BMD), despite the link between calcium intake and hypertension and between calcium and BMD, provides the rationale for the present study. The aims of this proposal are to investigate the relationship between blood pressure and BMD in women in both cross-sectional and longitudinal designs and to assess the extent to which these relationships can be mediated by dietary calcium supplementation and antihypertensive agents in women through the period of premenopause and thereafter. The proposed population is the Massachusetts Women's Health Study (MWHS), a longitudinal survey of women followed through menopause into postmenopause. The MWHS would be a comprehensive data source as it captures information on BMD and blood pressure, as well as other determinants of BMD. Positive results from both a cross-sectional and a longitudinal study would provide evidence for a causal association between blood pressure and BMD. Furthermore, the study design will produce evidence on the short-term and the long-term influence of blood pressure levels on BMD during the critical period of menopause, during which the BMD loss is accelerated. Ultimately, the addition of high blood pressure as a risk factor for osteoporosis could lead to better identification of women at risk, thus opening additional therapeutic directions for prevention of osteoporosis and its consequences
