Kuopio Osteoporosis Risk Factor and Prevention (OSTPRE) Study

Kuopio Osteoporosis Risk Factor and Prevention (OSTPRE) Study, a population-based prospective cohort study started in 1989, was originally aimed to investigate factors associated with bone mineral density, bone loss, falls and fractures in a target population of 14 220 peri- and postmenopausal women.

Later the scope was broadened and especially the 25-year follow-up enquiry in 2014 and the 30-year follow-up enquiry in 2019 focused on physical, psychological and social factors related to healthy aging and mortality.

The unique long-term design of the study allows identification of risk and protective factors for several somatic and mental health outcomes (including some non-skeletal chronic health disorders, functional capacity and subjective wellbeing). Merging the OSTPRE questionnaire data with data from National health registers enables the validation of self-reports and broadens the scope for other important health disorders.

Recently, the focus of the OSTPRE study is in Women´s Healthy Aging – project. This focuses on the identification of factors that predict healthy physical and psychosocial aging and low mortality. We hypothesize that functional capacity and subjective wellbeing are strongly related to healthy aging in women.