Bone Mineral Density in Adults in Taiwan: Results of the Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan 2005-2008 (NAHSIT 2005-2008)

Osteoporosis is one of the most prevalent global health problems in the elderly. A nationwide representative sample of 1121 adult subjects, aged 19 years and older, were scanned by a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in the third survey year of Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan 2005-2008. There was an apparent gender difference in the trend of bone mineral density (BMD) with age. In males, the decrease in BMD with age at lumbar spine and at femoral neck were statistically significant in those younger than 50 years, whereas the decrease in BMD at forearm was significant only in those aged 50 years and older (beta= -0.005, p