[Postmenopausal osteoporosis. Early diagnosis as an indication for preventive hormone therapy].

Idiopathic osteoporosis mainly affects postmenopausal women. The normal trabecular volume of the lumbar vertebrae in a sample of healthy perimenopausal women was established by monoenergetic computed tomography. Early diagnosis of diminished bone mass is crucial for the identification of women at risk for involuntary osteoporosis following climacteric estrogen depletion. Body weight, endogenous levels of sex steroids, renal calcium and hydroxyproline excretions are not related to individual bone mass in the lumbar spine.