Background: Obesity protects against bone loss, but it increases the risk of fragility fractures.
Aim: To determine if bone mineral density (BMD) and the prevalence of fractures are different in postmenopausal Maya-Mestizo women grouped according to their body mass index (BMI).
Subjects and methods: We studied 600 postmenopausal Maya-Mestizo women. A structured questionnaire for risk factors was applied. Body mass index was determined. BMD was assessed at the lumbar spine and total hip by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. History of low trauma fracture was determined from medical records. ANOVA was used to compare mean BMD between women with different BMI. To compare the frequency of fractures according to BMI group, we used χ2 test.
Results: According to WHO classification of BMI, 16.3% of women had normal BMI, 35.3% were overweight, and 48.4% had obesity. We found that women with obesity had a higher BMD versus women with normal BMI or overweight in all the anatomical sites analysed. The prevalence of history of fractures was 18.2%. We did not find differences between the women of different BMI; the wrist was the most frequent skeletal site of the fracture.
Conclusion: Obesity in postmenopausal Maya-Mestizo women is not a risk factor for developing fragility fractures.
Keywords: Body mass index; bone mineral density; fractures; postmenopausal Maya-Mestizo women.