title: Bone mineral content and bone mineral density at lumbar spine and forearm in Chinese girls aged 6-18 years.
abstract: We investigated the age-related bone mineral content (BMC), bone mineral density (BMD) and the tempo of growth in BMC and BMD at lumbar spine and forearm in 455 Chinese girls aged 6-18 yr. BMC and BMD at the anteroposterior lumbar spine (LS), the left forearm (radius+ulna ultradistal, R+UUD) and one-third region (R+U1/3) were measured using a dual-energy X-ray bone densitometer (DXA). BMC and BMD exhibited different change patterns with the age changes. There were significant correlations between age, height, weight and BMC and BMD at LS, R+UUD and R+U1/3 sites. BMC and BMD increased significantly with increments in pubertal stages at LS, R+UUD and R+U1/3 sites. In conclusion, our study showed that Tanner stage had a significant positive association with BMC and BMD of the lumbar spine and forearm. The differences were found in the growth tempo of BMC and BMD within a region and between the spine and forearm. Both BMD and BMC were recommended to evaluate the bone health in children and adolescents.
authors.affiliation: Nursing College of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, PR China.
authors.forename: S-Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: P-F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Shan
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: X-P
authors.initials: XP
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: E-Y
authors.initials: EY
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D044466:Asian People; D015519:Bone Density / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005542:Forearm / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging