Bone mineral content (CMO, mg/cm2) was measured at the distal radius by dual photon absorptiometry (DPA, I125, Am241) in 1.161 women (w), aged 20-87 years. Women were subdivided into different groups according to the presence and duration of menopause. For gross evaluation of spinal osteoporosis (OP), the results of spinal X-rays were graded as follows: score 0: no signs of OP; score 1: aspecific signs of OP; score 2: typical signs of OP; score 3: wedging or collapse of one or more vertebrae. Women in postmenopausal state showed significantly reduced CMO (p less than .0005) when compared to women in premenopausal state; a significant correlation was found between CMO and years since menopause (p less than .0001). Concerning the relationship between CMO and spinal score, a progressive decreases in CMO from score 0 to score 3 was present and the correlation was significant (p less than .0001). In addition, women with score 3 showed a mean CMO below the "fracture threshold", in spite of the large overlap in individual CMO values. Our data suggest that radial DPA should be maintained as a "screening" procedure for OP.