Dissertation committee:
Ευστάθιος Θ. Χρονόπουλος, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Γεώργιος Χ. Μπάμπης, Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Γεώργιος Π. Λυρίτης, Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Εύα Κασσή, Καθηγήτρια, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Βασίλειος Νικολάου, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Ανδρέας Φ. Μαυρογένης, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Ιωάννης Βλάμης, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
Our primary intention in this study was the monitoring as well the accurate
documentation of the body-changes in post-menopausal women displaying a decrease
in bone mineral density. The degree to which the aforementioned body-changes
affected the fall-risk was evaluated, while simultaneously the mobility, the functionality
and the balance of the participating individuals was assessed implementing universallyaccepted scales.
This prospective study was comprised by 498 post-menopausal women exceeding the
50th year of age, screening for either osteopenia or osteoporosis. The recruitment
process took place in an outpatient osteoporosis clinic lasting for over 2 years.
It is broadly received that the possibility of having multiple incidents of falls throughout
post-menopausal period of life, is strongly related to the ageing process and the
associated consequences. Low-impact fractures of the extremities as well of the axial
skeleton stand out as the chief consequence of the repeated falls.
There is a plethora of clinical factors that could affect the individual’s stability and
consequently the falling risk. The available literature gives a lot of information
regarding the aforementioned clinical factors. The majority of clinical papers done
already focus on assessing distinctive clinical parameters e.g., smoking e.t.c. It is rather
uncommon the assessment of the conjugative effect of these factors on the fall-risk.
What seems to be insufficiently studied is the impact of the aforementioned change of
the risk factors on the falling risk.
Keywords:
Menopause, Falls, Osteoporosis, Imbalance, Body-changes
