Abstract
To determine whether personal history of lactation in premenopausal women influence bone mineral
density, a cross-sectional study was conducted.
One hundred eighty-four premenopausal women were selected from women who had been checked for bone
mineral density by dual energy x-ray absortiometry in lumbar spine, femoral neck, Ward's triangle, and
trochanteric site at general hospitals in Seoul and Pusan. They completed a questionnaire including life style
factors and reproductive history.
In the data analysis, Pearson correlation coefficients were used to test any association between individual
variables and bone mineral density and a statistical comparisons between long term lactation(>24 months)
and short term lactation(<24 months) were made by one way analysis of covariance. The results were summarized as
follows:
1) There was no significant difference in the bone mineral density of the lumbar vertebrae in
premenopausal women between the long term lactation group(>24months) and the short term lactation
group(<24months).
2) There was no significant difference in the bone mineral density of the femur neck,
Ward's triangle, and trochanteric site in premenopausal women between the long term lactation group
(>24months) and the short term lactation group (<24months).
Considering these results, we suggest prospective studies that measure bone mineral density before and
after, in addition to those during lactation. We also suggest the further study with premenopausal women
less than 35 who have achieved peak adult bone mass.