Roentgenographic measurements of bone-mineral content in the radius and measurements of muscle thickness of the forearm were performed in 275 premenopausal and postmenopausal women to determine the significance of muscle atrophy as a possible causative factor in involutional (postmenopausal) osteoporosis.
No significant difference was found in the muscle diameters of the premenopausal and postmenopausal women in the same age range of thirty-seven to fifty-six years and with similar average ages. Conversely, significant marked loss of bonemineral content was found in the postmenopausal group when compared to the premenopausal group in the same age bracket.
The findings indicate that involutional osteoporosis is directly related to the menopause and that muscle atrophy is not a significant factor in its pathogenesis.