title: Bone mineral density of skeletal remains: Discordant results between chemical analysis and DXA method.
abstract: Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scanning is a gold standard for bone mineral density measurement and diagnosis of primary and secondary osteoporosis in living persons. DXA is becoming widespread when analysing archaeological material, and is considered to provide an accurate diagnosis of osteoporosis in skeletal samples. The aim of this study was to explain the differences in results between bone mineral density (obtained with DXA) and chemical determination of calcium and phosphorus concentrations in skeletal remains. We examined bone mineral density (BMD) and mineral content of femoral bone samples exhumed from mass graves of the Second World War. BMD was determined by Hologic QDR 4500 C (S/N 48034) Bone Densitometer. Concentrations of calcium and phosphorus were determined with AAS (Atomic absorption spectroscopy) and UV/VIS (Ultraviolet-visible) spectroscopy. The results obtained in this study do not support the hypothesis according to which BMD measured by DXA scan has positive correlation with chemically determined concentrations of calcium and phosphorus in bones, especially in acidic soils where there was significant impact of diagenesis observed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine, University Hospital Centre Split, 21 000 Split, Croatia; Department Forensic Medicine, University of Split School of Medicine, 21 000 Split, Croatia. Electronic address: dsutlov@kbsplit.hr.
authors.forename: Davorka
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sutlovic
authors.affiliation: General Hospital Dubrovnik, Department of Pathology, Dubrovnik, Croatia.
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Boric
authors.affiliation: Department Forensic Medicine, University of Split School of Medicine, 21 000 Split, Croatia.
authors.forename: Livia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sliskovic
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine, University Hospital Centre Split, 21 000 Split, Croatia.
authors.forename: Marijana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Popovic
authors.affiliation: Public Health Institute of Split - Dalmatian County, 21 000 Split, Croatia.
authors.forename: Zlatka
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Knezovic
authors.affiliation: University of Split, University Department for Forensic Sciences, 21 000 Split, Croatia.
authors.forename: Ivana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Nikolic
authors.affiliation: University of Split, School of Medicine Split, Split, Croatia.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vucinovic
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, University Hospital Centre Split, 21 000 Split, Croatia.
authors.forename: Zoran
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Vucinovic
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000071298:Body Remains / Q000737:chemistry*; D015519:Bone Density; D002118:Calcium / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010024:Osteoporosis; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000032:analysis*; D056951:Photoelectron Spectroscopy; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic
chemical_list: D010758:Phosphorus; D002118:Calcium
keywords: Bone density; Calcium and phosphorus concentration; DXA scan; Skeletal remains