Pap smears may predict bone health.(Gynecology)

HARROGATE, ENGLAND -- Women whose Pap smears reveal atrophic cell patterns may be at greater risk for osteopenia and osteoporosis than women whose smears show mature cell patterns, a study has shown.

The findings suggest that routine Pap testing could be a useful and inexpensive screening tool for identifying women at risk for the degenerative bone disorders, Alenka Repse-Fokter, M.D., reported in a poster presentation at the annual conference of the National Osteoporosis Society.

Given limited medical resources, the ability to use an already existing and widely performed screening protocol to help identify women with osteoporosis "would be highly appreciated," she said.

Dr. Repse-Fokter and colleagues at Celje (Slovenia) General Hospital assessed the Pap smear results and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) bone density measurements of 66 women between 46 and 67 years old. The women had received the Pap smears for routine cervical cancer screening and were invited to undergo bone mineral density measurement as part of the investigation. None used hormonal contraception or hormone therapy.

The investigators grouped the smears into atrophic and mature cell patterns, which can be easily recognized during the screening for cervical dysplasia or cancer, Dr. Repse-Fokter said. "In routine light microscopy, atrophic cells appear much smaller ...