title: Velocity of ultrasound at the patella: influence of age, menopause and estrogen replacement therapy.
abstract: Determination of apparent velocity of ultrasound (AVU) in bone has been proposed as a valuable tool for discriminating between normal and osteoporotic women. We have studied the influence of age, menopause and estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) on AVU at the patella in a large sample of pre- and postmenopausal women. Three hundred and eighteen woman aged 40-60 year participated in the study (112 women were premenopausal, 21 were perimenopausal and 185 were postmenopausal of whom 110 had received ERT for a minimum of 1 year). AVU was determined as the mean of four measurements at each patella using a Signet instrument (Osteo-Technology, Framingham, MA). An age-dependent decline in AVU was observed only after menopause (r = -0.33, p = 0.0055); in premenopausal women there was a slight but not significant decrease in AVU with age (r = -0.12, p > 0.05). AVU was significantly lower in postmenopausal women compared with premenopausal women (1882 +/- .84 m/s vs 1961 +/- 73 m/s, p < 0.05). ERT prevented the menopause-related fall in AVU. There was a significant positive correlation between the duration of ERT and AVU measurements. Our findings demonstrate a pronounced influence of estrogens on AVU at the patella, supporting the concept of a protective role of ERT in bone stability. AVU measurements therefore merit further investigation as an inexpensive method for predicting fracture risk that does not expose the subject to radiation.
authors.affiliation: Medizinische Klinik, University of Wurzburg, Germany.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lehmann
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wapniarz
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Kvasnicka
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Allolio
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods; D008593:Menopause / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000517:prevention & control; D010329:Patella / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000502:physiology; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014463:Ultrasonography