title: Importance of precision in bone density measurements.
abstract: Bone densitometry, regardless of the specific technique, is not perfectly reproducible even when consistently performed in exact accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations. Precision must be quantified at each densitometry facility in precision studies of the various skeletal sites used for monitoring. The precision, as the root-mean-square standard deviation or root-mean-square coefficient of variation, is then used to determine the change in bone density that constitutes the least significant change and the minimum interval between follow-up measurements. Until precision studies are performed, the least significant change cannot be determined for any level of statistical confidence, making the interpretation of serial studies impossible.
authors.affiliation: Texas Woman's University, PO Box 425876, Denton, TX 76204, USA. F_Bonnick@venus.twu.edu
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Bonnick
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Johnston
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kleerekoper
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lindsay
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sherwood
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Siris
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000328:Adult; D015519:Bone Density; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013131:Spine / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging