Turkish Journal of
GERIATRICS

Ankara Fizik Tedavi ve Rehabilitasyon Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, III. FTR Kliniği, ANKARA Fractures due to osteoporosis in geriatric patients are one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to determine bone density and its correlation with osteoporotic fractures in a group of geriatric patients admitted to our hospital.
The records of the patients 65 years old and over who were admitted to our Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation polyclinics with the demand of bone mineral dansitometric measurements were assessed. Bone mineral dansitometric measurements, fractures, menopause age for female patients, osteoporosis drugs, diseases and problems with fall risk were assessed.
The mean age of 77 geriatric patients was 71.6 ± 4.57 years. 63 of them were female(81.8%) and 14 of them were male(18.2 %).The mean menopause age was 45. 31± 5.62. In our study, the mean bone mineral dansity of patients was found 1.0160 ± 0.1930 and 0.6047± 0.145 gr/cm² for L2-4 and femur wards respectively. Thirty-eight of the assessed geriatric patients (49.4%) were osteoporotic, 32 of them(41.6 %) were osteopenic. Eleven out of 77 geriatric patients in our study have had a fracture history. Seven of the patients with fracture history were found to be osteoporotic and 3 of them were osteopenic.
In the final analysis of this research, we have determined that approximately half of the geriatric population are osteoporotic and that both osteoporosis and ostepenia result in, to a great extend, fractures. Thus, we have concluded that it would be appropriate that these findings should be taken into consideration and medical and rehabilitation methods should be given importance when assessing the geriatric patients. Keywords : Geriatrics, Osteoporosis, Osteoporotic Fractures, Falling.