Bone Loss and Osteoporosis, 2003 An Anthropological Perspective

With the growing incidence of fragility fractures in Europe and North America over the last three decades, bone loss and osteoporosis have become active areas of research in skeletal biology. Bone loss is associated with aging in both sexes and is accelerated in women with the onset of menopause. However, bone loss is related to a suite of complex and often synergistically related factors including genetics, pathology, nutrition, mechani­ cal usage, and lifestyle. It is not surprising that its incidence and severity vary among populations. There has been increasing interest to investigate bone loss and osteoporosis from an anthropological perspective that utilizes a biocultural approach. Biocultural approaches recognize the inter-relationship between biological, cultural, and environmental variables. Anthropological studies also highlight the value of evolutionary and population approaches to the study of bone loss. These approaches are particularly suited to elucidate the multifactorial etiology of bone loss. The idea for this volume came out of a symposium organized by the editors at the 70th annual meeting of The American Association of Physical Anthropologists in Kansas City, Missouri. Many of the symposium participants, along with several additional leading scientists involved in bone and osteoporosis research, are brought together in this volume. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of bone loss and fragility with a fresh and stimulating perspective.

I. Current Concepts of Bone Loss and Osteoporosis.- Concepts of Bone Remodeling: A Unified Spatial and Temporal Model with Physiologic and Pathophysiologic Implications.- 2. On Changing Views about Age-Related Bone Loss.- 3. The Role of Bone Quality on Bone Loss and Fragility.- II. Population Approaches.- 4. Ethnic Differences in Bone Mass and Architecture.- 5. Bone Loss, Fracture Histories, and Body Composition Characteristics of Older Males.- 6. The Histomorphometry of the Subadult Rib: Age-Associated Changes in Bone Mass and the Creation of Peak Bone Mass.- III. Evolutionary Perspectives.- 7. An Evolutionary and Biocultural Approach to Understanding the Effects of Reproductive Factors on the Female Skeleton.- 8. Functional Adaptation and Fragility of the Skeleton.- 9. Effects of Vitamin D on Bone and Natural Selection of Skin Color: How Much Vitamin D Nutrition are We Talking About?.- IV. Bone Loss and Osteoporosis in Past Populations.- 10. Techniques for the Investigation of Age-Related Bone Loss and Osteoporosis in Archaeological Bone.- 11. Differentail Diagnoses of Intravitam and Postmortem Bone Loss at the Micro-Level.- 12. Histomorphology, Geometry, and Mechanical Loading in Past Populations.- 13. Bone Remodeling and Age-Associated Bone Loss in the Past: A Histomorphometric Analysis of the Imperial Roman Skeletal Population of Isola Sacra.

From the reviews:"This book aims to provide a physical anthropological perspective on osteoporosis by bringing together contributions from researchers with medical and anthropological backgrounds. ... it forms a user-friendly introduction to the bone biology involved and is a useful gateway to the vast medical literature on osteoporosis. It is also a valuable introduction to some of the methodology for studying osteoporosis in ancient remains ... . there is much in this book that is fresh and challenging and it fills a gap in the palaeopathology literature." (Simon Mays, International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, Vol. 15 (3), 2005)