Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Relationship between arm span and height in postmenopausal osteoporotic women

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Rheumatology International Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Osteoporosis is a progressive systemic skeletal disease characterized by low bone density and microarchitectural deterioration of the bone. A minimum 3-cm difference between arm span and height makes up one of the criteria for suspecting osteoporosis. Therefore, it is easy to determine osteoporotic women by measuring the proportion of height to the arm span. The purposes of this study are to assess the relationship between arm span and height and to compare them in postmenopausal and young healthy women. This was a randomized-controlled, prospective study. There were two groups in this study. Group I included 70 postmenopausal osteoporotic women and group II had 70 healthy young women. Height, weight and arm span of the individuals were measured in all subjects. Bone mineral density and radiological examination of spine were also evaluated. Mean age of postmenopausal women was 64.4 ± 8.6 years and it was 27.3 ± 3.5 years in young healthy women. Mean height was 152 ± 5.1 and 161.5 ± 5.9 cm in group I and II, respectively. Mean arm span length was 159.6 ± 6.3 cm in postmenopausal women and 163.5 ± 6 cm in young healthy women. Mean arm span-height difference was significantly higher in postmenopausal women when compared to healthy young women (7.7 ± 3.6 and 2 ± 2.9 cm, respectively, P < 0.001). We suggest that arm span measurements can be used in the estimation of youth height and age-related loss in stature in postmenopausal women.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Brown JP, Josse RG, Scientific Advisory Council of the Osteoporosis Society of Canada (2002) Clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis and management of osteoporosis in Canada. CMAJ (Suppl 10):S1–S34

  2. Melton LJ, Kan SH, Frye MA, Wahner HW, O’Fallon WM, Riggs BL (1989) The epidemiology of vertebral fractures. Am J Epidemiol 129:1000–1011

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Cooper C, Atkinson EJ, O’Fallon WM, Melton LJ III (1992) Incidence of clinically diagnosed vertebral fractures: a population-based study in Rochester, Minnesota, 1985–1989. J Bone Miner Res 7:221–227

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Rea JA, Li J, Blake GM, Steiger P, Genant HK, Fogelman I (2000) Visual assessment of vertebral deformities by X-ray absorptiometry: a highly predictive method to exclude vertebral deformity. Osteoporos Int 11:660–668

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Wikipedia, free encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitruvius

  6. Nores JM, Remy JM, Nenna AD (1990) The value of span measurements in osteoporosis. Br J Clin Pract 44(4):154

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Versluis RGJA, Petri H, van de Ven CM, Scholtes ABJ, Broerse ER, Springer MP, Papapoulos SE (1999) Usefulness of arm span and height comparison in detecting vertebral deformities in women. Osteoporos Int 9:129–133

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Verhaar HJ, Koele JJ, Neijzen T, Dessens A, Duursma SA (1998) Are arm span measurements useful in the prediction of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women? Osteoporos Int 8(2):174–176

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. http://www.ohd.org.tr.tc

  10. Steiner E, Jergas M, Genant HK (1996) Radiology of osteoporosis. In: Marcus R, Feldmen D, Kelsey J (eds) Osteoporosis. Academic, San Diego, pp 1019–1054

    Google Scholar 

  11. Ross PD, Davis JW, Epstein RS, Wasnich RD (1991) Pre-existing fractures and bone mass predict vertebral fracture incidence in women. Ann Intern Med 114(11):919–923

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Melton LJ, Atkinson EJ, Cooper C, O’Fallon WM, Riggs BL (1999) Vertebral fractures predict subsequent fractures. Osteoporosis Int 10:214–221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Gunnes M, Mellstrom D, Johrell O (1998) How well can a previous fracture indicate a new fracture? Acta Orthop Scand 69:508–512

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Kotowicz MA, Melton LJ III, Cooper C, Atkinson EJ, O’Fallon WM, Riggs BL (1994) Risk of hip fracture in women with vertebral fracture. J Bone Miner Res 9:599–605

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Ettinger B, Black DM, Palermo L, Nevitt MC, Melnikoff S, Cummings SR (1994) Kyphosis in older women and its relation to back pain, disability and osteopenia: the study of osteoporotic fractures. Osteoporosis Int 4:55–60

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Mohanty SP, Suresh-Babu S, Sreekumaran-Nair N (2001) The use of arm span as a predictor of height: a study of South Indian women. J Orthop Surg 9(1):19–23

    Google Scholar 

  17. Jalzem PF, Gledhill RB (1993) Predicting height from arm measurements. J Pediatr Orthop 13(6):761–765

    Google Scholar 

  18. Augarwal AN, Gupta D, Jindal SK (1999) Interpreting spirometric data: impact of substitution of arm span for standing height in adults from North India. Chest 337–362

  19. Lindsay E, Comsan F, Herrington BS, Himmelstein S (1992) Bone mass and body composition in normal women. J Bone Miner Res 7:55–63

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Edelstein SL, Baret-Connor E (1993) Relation between body size and bone mineral density in elderly men and women. Am J Epidemiol 138:160–169

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Wang XF, Duan Y, Henry M, Kim BT, Seeman E (2004) Body segment lengths and arm span in healthy men and women and patients with vertebral fractures. Osteoporos Int 15(1):43–48

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Trivitayaratana W, Trivitayaratana P, Kongkiatikul S (2001) Arm span, height and forearm bone mineral density in normal young and postmenopausal women. J Med Assoc Thai 84(Suppl 2):S510–S515

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Manonai J, Khanacharoen A, Theppisai U, Chittacharoen A (2001) Relationship between height and arm span in women of different age groups. J Obstet Gynaecol Res 27(6):325–327

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Uzunca K, Birtane M, Zateri C (2007) Arm span–height difference is not an indicator of osteoporosis or associated vertebral deformity in postmenopausal women. Int J Clin Pract (e-pub)

  25. Brown JK, Whittemore KT, Knapp TR (2000) Is arm span an accurate measure of height in young and middle-age adults? Clin Nurs Res 9(1):84–94

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. PM&R Department, Marmara University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey

    Demet Ofluoglu, Feyza Unlu & Gulseren Akyuz

  2. Cakmak Mah. Soyak Yenisehir Palmiye Evleri, C2 Blok D:27, Umraniye, 34770, Istanbul, Turkey

    Demet Ofluoglu

Authors
  1. Demet Ofluoglu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Feyza Unlu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Gulseren Akyuz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Demet Ofluoglu.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ofluoglu, D., Unlu, F. & Akyuz, G. Relationship between arm span and height in postmenopausal osteoporotic women. Rheumatol Int 28, 737–741 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-007-0516-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-007-0516-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation