Prevalence of low bone mass in healthy Indian population.

Osteoporosis is a major problem of health care delivery services, both in the developed and developing countries. The first normative reference database of bone mineral density in the Indian women and men was established using digital x-ray radiogrammetry. Further analysis of this database revealed that 29.9% of women and 24.3% of men between the age of 20 and 79 years had low bone mass. About 50% women and 36% of men over 50 years of age were noted to have low bone mass. The observations of this study suggest that there is higher prevalence of low bone man in the Indian population compared to the western population.