SummaryA longitudinal study of the effects of ageing on bone mass, height, and body weight was made in random samples of a defined population of elderly men and women. The observations were made twice with an interval of 11 years between them. At initial survey ages ranged from 55 to 64 years. Bone mass was assessed from measurements of the second metacarpal cortex made directly from radiographs. Loss of bone occurred in both sexes but this was not a universal phenomenon; some men and women lost little or no bone over the period of study. In those persons in whom bone loss did take place this happened at different rates; and the women tended to lose more bone than the men.Change in bone mass in the metacarpal was not related to loss of heigh, change in body weight, the occurence of fracture, or the presence of back pains. A separate population of persons with the clinical syndrome of senile osteoporosis was not identified.
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