Abstract
Bone pain has become a common problem in pre and post menopausal women. This study was conducted in the Department of Physiology, University of Karachi and included only female subjects of age between 36 to 56 years having some kind of bone and joint pain. Subjects were investigated for many pathological and non pathological risk factors for bone pain through a detailed questionnaire. BMI and Waist to hip ratio for the evaluation of obesity were calculated. Blood samples for the estimation of serum alkaline phosphatase and total cholesterol were taken. Several pathological and behavioral risk factors were found in the subjects. Multiple non pathological factors like estrogen deficiency, inadequate dietary calcium and vitamin D intake, physical inactivity, stress and use of caffeine and soft drink were potential risks for bone pain even in the absence of any bone illness. It was observed that majority of the women have many risk factors among them sedentary lifestyle, less exposure to sunlight, obesity, soft drinks use are important. The incidence of bone pain was found to be higher with age. Serum alkaline phosphatase levels were higher in all subjects suggesting some bone disease. There was no significant correlation found between blood Cholestrol and bone pain. Thus it is concluded that incidence of bone pain in Pakistani middle-aged women is an alarming situation. Our lifestyle, diet pattern, physical activity should be modified to avoid the risks for bone pain. Bone pain in old age women is due to lack of protective effects of estrogen therefore during young age some adequate steps regarding lifestyles and diet should be taken to avoid complications later.
