title: Morphometric dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry of the spine: report of a large series and correlation with axial bone mineral density.
abstract: We studied vertebral morphometry and its relation to bone mineral density (BMD) in normal Brazilian women (n = 605). All women (age 22-97 years) were ambulatory and healthy. A lateral spine scan was done for morphometric X-ray absorptiometry using an imaging densitometer. In 429 of these women, BMD of the spine and proximal femur also were measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. All women were white with mean (+/- 1 SD) age of 53.7 (+/- 9.5) years. About 21% of the women over 50 years had a T score for spine BMD lower than -2.5 SD, and 7% had a femoral neck BMD below this osteoporosis threshold. Vertebral heights (anterior, HA; middle, HM; and posterior, HP) and ratios (HA/HP and HM/HP) were assessed. There was no systematic difference between younger (20-49 years) and older (50+ years) women in heights or ratios. The vertebral heights were normalized for those observed in each individual case for the L2-L4 sequence. This normalization was adequate for all vertebral heights; the Z score averaged about +0.1. The average Z score for HA/HP was +0.01, but that for the HM/HP was -0.72, indicating that the latter ratio might differ from the reference population used (white American and European women). We observed a small positive correlation between vertebral heights and spine or femur BMD, but this was due entirely to the influence of body size on BMD. On a group basis, the HM/HP showed a significant association with axial BMD; the 1 SD difference between the lowest and highest quartile was associated with a difference of 8-15% (0.5-1.0 SD) in axial BMD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology & Biophysics, ICB, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Bianco
authors.forename: L F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Malvestiti
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Gouveia
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wehba
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lewin
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Marone
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001827:Body Height; D015519:Bone Density; D001938:Brazil; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013131:Spine / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*