title: Modifications of T-scores by quantitative ultrasonography for the diagnosis of osteoporosis in koreans.
abstract: To identify a proper T-score threshold for the diagnosis of osteoporosis in Koreans using quantitative ultrasonography (QUS), normative data from 240 females and 238 males (ages 20-29 yr) were newly generated. Then, the osteoporosis prevalence estimate for men and women over 50 yr of age was analyzed using previous World Health Organization (WHO) methods and heel QUS. T-scores were calculated from the normative data. There were definite negative correlations between age and all of the QUS parameters, such as speed of sound (SOS), broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA), and estimated heel bone mineral density (BMD) (p<0.0001). After applying the recently determined prevalence of incident vertebral fracture in Koreans over 50 yr of age (11.6% and 9.1%, female vs male, respectively) to the diagnosis of osteoporosis by T-scores from heel BMD as measured by QUS, it was revealed that applicable T-scores for women and men were -2.25 and -1.85, respectively. These data suggest that simply using a T-score of -2.5, the classical WHO threshold for osteoporosis, underestimates the true prevalence when using peripheral QUS. Further prospective study of the power of QUS in predicting the absolute risk of fracture is needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Yumie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Rhee
authors.forename: Junho
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Ji Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Jung Eun
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: So Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Yoo Mee
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sihoon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Han Seok
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Se Hwa
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sung-Kil
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Lim
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015519:Bone Density / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D006365:Heel / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D012016:Reference Values; D012306:Risk; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014463:Ultrasonography; D055815:Young Adult