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Women with decreased bone strength had poorer scores on
mental tests
------------------------------------------------- Women with
lowest levels of bone density were found to be older and thinner and had more symptoms of depression. In addition, these women were older when they had their first menstrual cycle and younger when they went through menopause, compared to women with higher bone density. Also compared to women with higher levels of bone density, women with decreased bone strength had poorer scores on
mental tests. Women with spine fractures had
lowest mental test scores and greatest odds of mental deterioration.
Woman with
lowest bone density levels were more likely to have been diagnosed with dementia.
-------------------------------------
Performance on
mental tests worsened over time. At
four- to six-year follow-up, women with
greatest decreases in bone density had
greatest reduction in mental scores on all three tests. Compared with women with higher bone density, those with
lowest bone density levels were more likely to have been diagnosed with dementia.
According to Yaffe and colleagues, it is unlikely that bone density affects mental abilities directly, but poorer thinking may diminish physical activity and in turn lead to accelerated bone loss, or to weight loss that decreases bone strength and increases
risk of bone fractures.
Although estrogen deficiency is one probable link in
association between bone loss and loss of some mental abilities, other possibilities include depression and stroke, which have been shown to be associated with both low bone density and mental decline. Still another possibility, Yaffe says, is something called
"terminal drop" hypothesis, which states that as people age, multiple organ systems of
body fail simultaneously. While
study only included women, Yaffe says that
findings may be applicable to men as well.
Source: WebMD

About The Author ---------------- Michael Lewis has been collecting articles and information on Weight Loss and HGH (Human Growth Hormone) and related health benefits. He has created and edits numerous web sites about this subject. Michael is a staff writer for www.ageforce.com and several other websites. If you would like to contact Michael you can e-mail him at Michael@AgeForce.com