Bone mineral density of the spine and femur in healthy Chinese men.
OBJECTIVE
To establish bone mineral density (BMD) reference database in healthy Chinese men of Han ethnicity, and to estimate the prevalence of osteoporosis in the population.


METHODS
The BMD in the lumbar spine 1-4 (L1-4) and proximal femur was measured using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry in a total of 1 385 healthy Chinese men of Han ethnicity aged 20-89 years old in Shanghai.


RESULTS
The highly significant negative correlation between age and BMD at any sites of proximal femur was found in the studied population, wheras no correlation between age and BMD at lumbar spine was observed. The peak BMD of the lumbar spine and any sites of hip in Chinese men was defined as the mean BMD for the subjects aged 20-89 years. According to World Health Organization (WHO) criteria, the BMD cut-off values for osteoporosis of the L1-4, total hip, femoral neck, trochanter and intertrochanter in Chinese men are 0.719, 0.638, 0.575, 0.437 and 0.725 g/cm(2), respectively. Using the current Chinese reference data, the prevalence of osteoporosis at the L1-4, total hip, femoral neck, trochanter and intertrochanter is 5.4%, 3.8%, 6.3%, 1.8% and 2.8% in 1 084 men aged 50 years or older, respectively. However, using a database for US non-Hispanic white men (NHANES III), the prevalence of osteoporosis or osteopenia at any sites of the hip was significantly higher than that while using the current Chinese reference data.


CONCLUSIONS
The BMD reference database was established in healthy Chinese men of Han ethnicity, and will facilitate more accurate diagnosis of osteoporosis in Chinese men.
Zhang
Zhen-Lin
ZL
Center for Preventing and Treating Osteoporosis, Osteoporosis Research Unit, The Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200233, China. ZZL2002@medmail.com.cn
Qin
Yue-Juan
YJ
Huang
Qi-Ren
QR
Hu
Yun-Qiu
YQ
Li
Miao
M
He
Jin-Wei
JW
Zhang
Hao
H
Liu
Yu-Juan
YJ
Hu
Wei-Wei
WW
D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015519:Bone Density; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005269:Femur / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012016:Reference Values; D013131:Spine / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*