Background
: It is controversial whether the use of HMG CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) is associated with an increased bone mineral density (BMD) in humans. The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of statins on BMD in Korean postmenopausal women.

Methods : Forty-four postmenopausal women (aged 54.3±5.8 years) were included. The statin users (n=24) were administered either simvastain, atorvastatin, pravastatin, or lovastatin. The control group (n=20) did not take statins. BMD of the spine were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) was tested as a bone marker. The data were analysed with two-sample t test and paired t-test.

Results : The mean annual spinal BMD changes of the study groups were -1.5±5.6% for statin users and -0.2±4.2% for control group. There was no statistically significant difference in mean annual spinal BMD changes (P=0.696). The mean annual ALP changes of the study groups were -5.6±18.1% for the statin users and -0.4±13.9% for the control group. There was no statistically significant difference in mean annual ALP changes (P=0.246). In each group, the spinal BMD significantly was not changed after 1 year (P＞0.05).

Conclusion : This study suggest that statins do not protect from bone loss in Korean postmenopausal women.