Osteoporosis of pregnancy: Long-term follow-up of patients and their offspring

Background The usual course of osteoporosis of pregnancy is complete resolution without recurrence. We report the 10-year follow-up of two patients with osteoporosis of pregnancy and their offspring. Cases A 30-year-old woman presented with right hip pain at 30 weeks' gestation. Single-photon absorptiometry of the distal radius showed osteopenia, which persisted on 10-year follow-up. A dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry performed on the 11-year-old daughter of this pregnancy showed osteopenia. A 26-year-old woman presented with left hip pain at 16 weeks' gestation. Single-photon absorptiometry of the distal radius showed osteopenia, which persisted on 10-year follow-up. Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry performed on the 13-year-old daughter of this pregnancy showed osteopenia. Conclusion Osteoporosis of the hip discovered during pregnancy may not be a transient process and should prompt a search for osteopenia in both mother and offspring.