Dropout and compliance to physical exercise in menopausal osteopenic women: the European "happy bones" project

Introduction: Decline in muscle mass and bone density seem to be two of themost disabling side effects of menopause that negatively affect women’s qualityof life. Promoting physical activity protocols in the workplace can represent afocal point in the prevention and management of several diseases. The studyaims to evaluate the compliance and drop-out of menopausal osteopenicwomen engaged in combined training performed inside and outside theworkplace. Strength and balance were analyzed to evaluate the effect of thisprotocol on osteoporosis prevention and the risk of falling.Methods: 73 menopausal women were enrolled in 5 European countries. Theyperformed 72 lessons of a combined training proposed in the working place(IW) or sport center (SC).Results: Out of the total 39 women enrolled in the IW, 12.8% had to leave theprogram, while out of the 34 women enrolled in SC, 41.2% did not completethe training. According to the compliance results, 47% of women thatcompleted the trained IW and 85% in the SC recorded high compliance (p =0.019). Moreover, the strength of the lower limbs (p < 0.001) and static balance(p = 0.001) significantly improved in the whole group.Discussion: In conclusion, proposing well-structured training in the workplace formenopausal women seems to reduce drop-out. Strength and balance resultssuggest its positive impact on bone health and risk of falls, despite where it isperformed.