Aims. Mustard Sulfur, known as Mustard gas (MSG), which was used during Iran – Iraq war, is responsible for about 1,000,000 chemical injured patients in Iran. It seems that these patients are at a higher risk for osteoporosis, due to corticosteroids usage as the treatment for chronic complications. Methods. The study was an analytic Cross-Sectional study, performed on 56 chemical injured, patients exposed to Mustard Sulfur Gas whoeferred to Baghyatollah Hospital and 29 healthy males. A femore and Spine Bone Mineral Densitometry (BMD) of was performed for the patients using a dual X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) technique .The collected data was analyzed using SPSS 13.05. A probability value < 0.05 was considered to be significant. Results. The diffeoenin femoral and spinal BMD mean values between the patients with a history of MSG exposure and healthy individuals was significant. (p=0.00) The overall quantitative assessment showed 39.5 % osteoporosis, 46.5 % osteopenia and 14% normal BMD in chemical exposed patients. There was a significant relationship between MSG exposure and osteoporosis status (p=0.0). No correlation was detected between Body Mass Index (BMI) and Spinal and/or Femoral BMD indices. (p>0.05) Conclusion. There was a significant decrease in spinal and femoral Bone Mineral Density among patients exposed to MSG. The result is noticeable considering the fracture probability which may deteriorate the patient's condition. Prescription of bone protecting agents may be beneficial for these patients. |