Smokeless tobacco and osteoporosis: a new relationship?

Osteoporosis is a common disorder of bone predominantly affecting postmenopausal women in which bone mineral density declines making bone more likely to break. Although cigarette smoking is a well-established risk factor for osteoporosis, smokeless tobacco (ST) use has never been suggested or evaluated as a risk factor for this bone disorder. This would be important to consider since in certain regions of the world, ST use is more prevalent than cigarette smoking, particularly among women. This paper reviews the animal and human evidence lending support to this new hypothesis, as well as the epidemiology of ST use that underscores the potential impact this modifiable behavior might have on osteoporosis world wide. Copyright 2001 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.