title: Age changes of calcaneal ultrasonometry in healthy German women.
abstract: This study assessed age changes in quantitative ultrasound sonometry (QUS) in a large sample of healthy German women. Speed of sound (SOS), broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA), and stiffness index (SI) of the calcaneus were measured in 1333 women (mean age 50.5 +/- 11.5 years) using the Achilles ultrasonometer (Lunar Corp., Madison, WI, USA). The short-term precision in 31 adults was 0.2% for SOS, 1. 2% for BUA, and 1.3% for SI. There was an overall decline of 15% for BUA, 4% for SOS, and 31% for SI between late adolescence and old age. In premenopausal women, BUA decreased only slightly (-3%), whereas postmenopausal women showed a significantly increased decline (-12%). In contrast, SOS continuously decreased from the age of 15; there was a decline of 2% from adolescence to the menopause; postmenopausal women showed a slightly larger decline (-2.5%). The SI of premenopausal women decreased by 10%, but the postmenopausal decline of almost 22% was significantly greater. SI values for premenopausal German women were comparable to those observed in the American Achilles reference population, but postmenopausal German women had significantly higher SI values of 7% due to a lower rate of aging loss.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, University of Marburg, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hadji
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Hars
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bock
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Albert
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Beckmann
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Emons
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schulz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001824:Body Constitution; D015519:Bone Density; D002111:Calcaneus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008593:Menopause / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D015663:Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal / Q000453:epidemiology; D017697:Premenopause / Q000378:metabolism; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014463:Ultrasonography