[Frequency of Falls and Association with Stabilometric Parameters of Balance in Postmenopausal Women with and Without Osteoporosis]

Purpose: To evaluate the rate of fall and its association with stabilometric parameters in postmenopause women, with or without osteoporosis.

Methods: Transversal cohort study including 266 over 60-year-old women with and without osteoporosis, with at least 12 months of amenorrhea. The women were interviewed about the occurrence of falls in the previous 12 months, and about clinical and sociodemographic information. The osteoporosis diagnosis was done through bone densitometry and the postural stability evaluated through a stabilometric platform. For statistical analysis, mean, standard deviation, percentage, Mann-Whitney test, chi2 and Odds Ratio, and Spearman's correlation coefficient have been calculated.

Results: Women with osteoporosis presented lower body mass index (BMI), lower schooling, shorter hormonal therapy and sooner menopause onset. The rate of fall was significantly higher in the group of women with osteoporosis (51.1%) (p<0.01), that presented an adjusted risk of 1.9 (1.3 to 3.4) times higher of falls and 3.2 (1.2 a 8.2) times higher of recurrent falls than the group without osteoporosis. Women with osteoporosis presented higher amplitude of Y axis oscillation in the open-eye test, than women without osteoporosis. The adjusted correlation analysis between stabilometric parameters and falls has not shown any significant correlation.

Conclusions: Women with post-menopausal osteoporosis present higher rate of falls and higher risk of recurrent falls, as compared with women without osteoporosis.