title: Trabecular bone score (TBS) in postmenopausal African American women.
abstract: Trabecular bone score (TBS) is a newly developed parameter that can be derived from DXA scans of the spine and may reflect bone quality. This study provides TBS values in healthy postmenopausal women of African descent.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  African American women have a lower risk for osteoporotic fractures as a result of higher bone density and better bone quality. We examined TBS in postmenopausal African American women since there are no previous reports in this population.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a study of healthy African American volunteers using baseline values prior to their participation in two vitamin D intervention studies conducted at an ambulatory research center of an academic health center.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study population consisted of 518 healthy postmenopausal African American women with a mean age of 66 years and a BMI of 30.1. Mean TBS (L1 to L4) was 1.300(.100 SD). Significant negative correlations were found between TBS and age and BMI. None of the biochemical variables were significantly correlated with TBS whereas the various bone density sites were correlated with TBS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  TBS values for African American women are higher than those reported in the literature for white women and are inversely related to age and BMI.
authors.affiliation: Winthrop University Hospital, 222 Station Plaza North, Suite 510, Mineola, NY, 11501-3893, USA, jaloia@winthrop.org.
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Aloia
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mikhail
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Usera
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dhaliwal
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Islam
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D001741:Black or African American; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D015992:Body Mass Index; D015519:Bone Density / Q000502:physiology*; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers