Abstract

Author(s): Jose SULLA TORRES1, Camilo URRA ALBORNOZ2, Fernando ALVEAR VASQUEZ3, Marco COSSIO BOLA�?OS3, Rossana GOMEZ CAMPOS3

Introduction: During growth, the accumulation of bone mass is maximized, so its evaluation during this stage is relevant.

Objective: To compare bone health with studies from other geographical regions of the world and to verify the differences in bone density and mineral content of schoolchildren classified with and without risk of bone fragility.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in 1224 schoolchildren (573 boys and 651 girls) from the city of Arequipa (Peru). The age range ranges from 6 to 16.9 years. Weight, standing height, sitting height, diameter of the femur, length of the right forearm were evaluated. The weight index (PI), the state of maturity through the growth rate peak (APVC), bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (CMO) were calculated by regression equations. The sample was classified into a group with risk and without risk of bone fragility.

Results: BMD and CMO were compared with studies from the Netherlands, Chile, and China. Children from the Netherlands presented mean values higher than Peruvian children from ~ 0.10 to 0.90 (g / cm2) in BMD and from ~ 0.28 to 0.94 (g / cm2) in CMO in both sexes. It was observed 9% (n = 52) in men and 12% (n = 78) in women with risk of suffering osteoporosis and 91% (n = 521) of men and 88% (n = 573) of women without risk of osteoporosis. There were differences in the diameter of the femur, length of the forearm, BMD and CMO between both categorized groups (with and without risk) and in both sexes (p <0.05).

Conclusions: There were discrepancies in BMD and CMO with other geographic regions, in addition, schoolchildren classified as risk of bone fragility had decreased bone size and poor bone health compared to their counterparts without risk.