The more wrinkles a woman has in the first years after menopause, the more she is at risk of developing osteoporosis and future fractures, according to an American study presented at the 93rd annual meeting of the Endocrine Society in Boston.
It turns out that in postmenopausal women, the appearance of the skin may reflect the condition of the skeleton, which we did not know before, comments co-author of the study, Lubna Pal from the Faculty of Medicine at Yale University. The endocrinologist hopes that in the future, this discovery could help to quickly identify women who are particularly at risk of osteoporosis and bone fracture, without the need for expensive tests.
This is important because as many as one-third of postmenopausal women suffer from osteoporosis – a disease that gradually, without showing symptoms, can weaken the bones so much that they break for a minor cause, such as a simple trip.
The latest research included 114 women in their early fifties or in their early XNUMXs who had gone through the menopause, the last menstrual period, in the last three years, and who were not using hormone replacement therapy. Those women who underwent aesthetic medicine treatments were excluded from the study.
The number and depth of wrinkles on the face and neck were assessed in all of them. The firmness of the skin was checked on the forehead and cheek with a device called a durometer. The women also had their bone density measured by double photon absorptiometry (DEXA) and a portable ultrasound machine.
It turned out that there was a clear relationship between the number and depth of wrinkles and bone density. The greater the wrinkles a woman had, the weaker her bones were, and the firmer her skin on her cheeks – the stronger her bones. The relationship was related to different parts of the skeleton – the femur, lumbar spine, and heel bones – and was not related to age, body fat, or other factors affecting bone health.
Scientists cannot exactly explain the observed relationship. Pal reminds, however, that the skin and bones contain structural proteins from the same group – collagens. With age, the production of collagen decreases, which contributes to the decrease in skin elasticity and sagging, the formation of wrinkles and weakening of the bones. But long-term research will be required to fully understand the relationship between wrinkles and bone health and the risk of fractures after menopause, the endocrinologist says.
Ultimately, we’d like to know if the intensity of the wrinkles can identify women at greater risk of breaking bones, especially the femoral neck and pelvic bones, which can be a life-threatening event in older people, comments Pal. If the findings of her team are confirmed in the future, skin examination along with the analysis of other risk factors for fractures may help to predict them in women who do not have access to expensive diagnostic methods. (PAP)