The purpose of this study is to assess the Vietnamese refugees' knowledge of osteoporosis and risk factors, provide health education on osteoporosis, measure bone mineral density for comparison with the white residents of Olmsted County, and to examine the association of bone density and body composition with lifestyle. This was a very staff-intensive effort to identify, recruit and study commmunity adults of Vietnamese heritage as part of Dr. Melton's grant """"""""Epidemiology of Age-Related Bone Loss and Fractures"""""""" (AR27065). The several purposes were 1) to assess the Vietnamese refugees' knowledge of osteoporosis and its riks factors; 2) to provide health education on osteoporosis and on possible preventive measures such as dietary calcium, hormone replacement therapy and exercise; 3) to determine bone mineral density (BMD) levels among the Vietnamese refugees residing in Olmsted County and to compare these with the distribution of bone density among white residents of the county; and 4) to examine the association between bone density and body composition, life-style (e.g., obesity, smoking) and, for the women, reproductive factors (e.g., parity, age at menopause).
These aims are important because it is unnown whether osteoporosis represents a potential problem among refugees from Vietnam. Due to the experience and diligent efforts of a dedicated staff, recruitment has been very successful and we should be able to answer this question.
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