title: Normative data for digital X-ray radiogrammetry from a female and male German cohort.
abstract: This study presents German reference data for digital X-ray radiogrammetry (DXR) differentiated by males as well as females, and quantifies for gender-specific and age-related differences including all DXR parameters. This study also documents the effects of different X-ray settings (e.g., radiographs of the wrist or the hand) on DXR measurements. There were 2085 patients who were prospectively enrolled (954 females and 1131 males) from a data pool of 11,915 patients with radiographs of the nondominant hand or wrist. All patients underwent measurements of bone mineral density (BMD), cortical thickness, bone width, and the metacarpal index (MCI) using DXR technology. These data showed a continuous age-related increase of the DXR parameters to the point of peak bone mass, then a continuous decline beyond the peak bone mass with accentuated age-related cortical bone loss in women. Peak bone mass is reached at approximately 30-34 yr for women and 45-49 yr for men. In addition, men had a significantly higher DXR BMD (mean: +12.8%) compared with woman in all age groups. Regarding the impact of various X-ray settings (e.g., X-ray(wrist) vs. X-ray(hand)), no significant difference was observed between both groups, men as well as women. The development of digital imaging technology has enabled more precise measurements of several radio-geometric features. The present study estimated normative reference values for DXR in German Caucasian women and men. Based on this reference data, a valid and reliable quantification of disease-related demineralization based on measurements of DXR BMD and MCI is now available for the Caucasian ethnic group.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena, Germany. joachim.boettcher@med.uni-jena.de
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Böttcher
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pfeil
authors.forename: Max L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Schäfer
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Petrovitch
authors.forename: Bettina E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Seidl
authors.forename: Hans-Joachim
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Mentzel
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lehmann
authors.forename: Ansgar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Malich
authors.forename: Jens-Peter
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Heyne
authors.forename: Gert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hein
authors.forename: Gunter
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.forename: Werner A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Kaiser
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism; D015519:Bone Density; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006225:Hand; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D050279:Metacarpal Bones / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014953:Wrist