High Blood Pressure Linked to Bone Loss?

Recent issues of To Your Health have included several studies detailing the importance
of maintaining strong, healthy bones as we age. (See "Road to Strong Bones Paved with
Nutrition," Aug. '99; "Maintain Strong Bones with Exercise," Sept. '99; and "Bone Loss
Linked to Mental Decline," Jan. 2000.) We continue this trend in the current issue
by reporting on a study that appeared in the September 18th issue of the Lancet.

The authors note that bone loss, often related to calcium deficiencies, is a primary
cause of fractures in postmenopausal women and the elderly, and that problems with
our ability to metabolize calcium has been linked to high blood pressure. They use
this background data to explore the potential relationship between bone loss and high
blood pressure in 3,676 elderly Caucasian women.

By comparing initial measurements of blood pressure and bone mineral density (BMD)
with BMD measurements taken 3-5 years later, the authors discovered that rates of bone
loss increased with increasing blood pressure. These findings were maintained even
after taking other variables into consideration, including age, weight, smoking and
regular use of hormone replacement therapy (all of which can influence bone loss).

Ask your chiropractor for more information on keeping your blood pressure low, your
bone density high, and maintaining your health and wellness for a lifetime!

Cappuccio FP, Meilahn E, Zmuda JM, et al. High blood pressure and bone mineral loss
in elderly white women: a prospective study. The Lancet, Sept. 18, 1999: Vol. 354,
pp971-75.