title: Osteoporosis and atherosclerosis: a post-mortem MDCT study of an elderly cohort.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate how far fracture status and bone mineral density (BMD) correlate with the vascular calcification score (CS).
  
  
  METHODS
  On 29 complete human cadavers (17 female, 12 male; mean age at death was 85.57 years), multi-detector computed tomography was performed to assess the spine fracture status (fracture vs non-fracture [FX vs non-FX]) and CS of the coronary arteries (Coro-CS), the aorta (Aorta-CS) and the pelvic vessels (Iliac-CS). Quantitative computed tomography of the lumbar spine was performed to estimate overall BMD (osteoporotic [BMD <80 mg/cm(3)] vs non-osteoporotic [BMD ≥ 80 mg/cm(3)]).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Gender-specific differences in statistical significance were only observed for Aorta-CS and Iliac-CS but not for Coro-CS. When comparing the osteoporotic with the non-osteoporotic group, statistically significant differences were only found for Iliac-CS (P < 0.05); however, linear regression analysis showed none of the CSs to significantly correlate with BMD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In our small post-mortem elderly population, statistically significant associations of fracture status and BMD with CS were only observed between the osteoporotic and non-osteoporotic groups for the pelvic vessels but not for the coronary arteries and the aorta.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  • Gender-specific differences were observed for aortic and iliac calcification score (CS). • There was no difference in coronary CS between females and males. • Only iliac CS was different in osteoporotic and non-osteoporotic subjects. • In linear regression analysis, CS showed no correlation with BMD. • In univariate analysis, gender was a BMD and iliac CS confounder.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité - Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany, ahi-sema.issever@charite.de.
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Issever
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kentenich
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Köhlitz
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Diederichs
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zimmermann
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001344:Autopsy; D015519:Bone Density; D002102:Cadaver; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D061330:Multidetector Computed Tomography / Q000379:methods; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012737:Sex Factors