Calcification of the Aorta and Osteoporosis

Abstract

X-ray films of 589 persons studied to determine the relationship between osteoporosis and calcification of the abdominal aorta showed the prevalence of osteoporosis to be 24.1%, being highest in white females (39.2%). White females had a greater prevalence than black females, and white males more than black males. In contrast to white males, in whom osteoporosis became common after the age of 55 years, white females demonstrated a high frequency a decade earlier. The prevalence of patients with calcification of the abdominal aorta was 20.2%, the highest being in white females (28%). Statistical analysis demonstrated a positive correlation between the two conditions. The association is present also after the effects of age have been removed statistically. Perhaps the loss of calcium from bone which occurs in osteoporosis predisposes to calcification of the abdominal aorta.