Search Results (5)

Background: Monitoring bone mineral density (BMD) in adults is critical for early detection of osteoporosis and prevention of fracture, for which quantitative ultrasound (QUS) is a good non-invasive tool. We examined the associations of QUS measures, including stiffness index (SI) and T-score, with socio-demographic, lifestyle, and anthropometric correlates and risk of subsequent fracture. Methods: Calcaneal QUS was performed using GE’s Lunar Achilles EXPII among 24,651 adults (mean age 59.5 years, 61.7% women) from the China Kadoorie Biobank study. Socio-demographic and lifestyle information was collected using an interviewer-administered electronic questionnaire, and anthropometrics were measured following standard protocols. Incidence of fracture and osteoporosis was recorded via linkage with nationwide health insurance database. Linear and Cox regression analyses were conducted, adjusting for potential confounders. Results: On average, men had higher SI (92.8 vs. 86.0) but lower T-score (−0.85 vs. −0.64) than women. In both men and women, advanced age and smoking were inversely associated with SI and T-score, while physical activity and tea drinking were positively so (p < 0.0001 for all). Except for height, all other anthropometric measures were significantly and positively associated with both BMD measures. With each SD lower SI, the risk of subsequent fracture was 26% (95% confidence interval: 10–44%) and 40% (25–57%) higher in men and women, and the corresponding associations of T-score were identical. Conclusions: Among Chinese adults, the SI and T-score provided by Achilles EXPII had similar patterns and predictive values for subsequent fracture, despite the T-score for men and women not being directly comparable because of gender-specific references used. Future studies are needed to confirm or refute the causality of relationship between lifestyle and anthropometric factors and BMD. Full article

(1) Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a relatively common neurodegenerative disease in elderly individuals, with a high risk of falls. There is abundant literature on the relationship between PD and osteoporosis. The aim of this study is to describe the bone quality of a population with PD by calcaneal ultrasound and to compare it with a healthy control, assessing the influence of possible sex differences. (2) Methods: 21 patients diagnosed with PD were recruited. The control group was composed of 30 healthy individuals with similar sociodemographic characteristics. The bone quality of all participants was assessed using calcaneal quantitative ultrasound (QUS). The parameters recorded were broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA, in decibels per megahertz), imaging speed of sound (SOS, in meters per second), stiffness index (SI) and T-score of each participant. Bone mineral density (BMD) was estimated using the equation BMD = 0.002592 × (BUA + SOS) − 3.687 (g/cm²). (3) Results: significant differences were observed between the healthy control and the PD group: the T-score was lower in the PD group (p < 0.05) and SOS was higher in Parkinson’s disease patients (p < 0.05), while 28.6% of the PD patients were osteoporotic with T-score values lower than −1.5 compared to 16.7% of osteoporotic individuals in the control group (p < 0.01). Regarding the sex, there were significant differences (p < 0.05) between the females of the PD group vs. control group, showing a significant difference in the SI (71.4 ± 14.7 vs. 87.8 ± 12), T-score (−2.19 ± 1.1 vs. −0.15 ± 0.8), BUA (104.5 ± 13 vs. 116 ± 10.6) and BMD (0.49 ± 0.09 vs. 0.60 ± 0.08), with no difference in the comparison between the male groups; and the comparison between both sexes in T-score only showed significant differences for the PD group (p < 0.05), with worse bone quality in women. (4) Conclusions: this study shows poorer bone quality in female patients with PD, who have a higher percentage of osteoporosis than healthy patients. The QUS technique of the calcaneus seems adequate for these determinations in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Full article

Achieving a high bone mass during childhood and adolescence is important for the prevention of osteoporosis in later life. Herein, the purpose was to assess the relationship of various lifestyle factors and bone outcomes in school children. In 248 girls (13.4 ± 1.9 years, BMI: 20.2 ± 4.8 kg m⁻²) and 231 boys (13.6 ± 1.7 years, BMI: 19.3 ± 3.3 kg m⁻²), bone mass (stiffness index, SI; calcaneal quantitative ultrasonometry), body composition (bioelectrical impedance analysis), food intake (food frequency questionnaire), and physical activity level (PAL; standardized questionnaire) were assessed. The individual food intake of eight food groups was related to the German recommendations (Bone Healthy Eating Index, BoneHEI; 0–100 points). Relationships between SI and lifestyle factors (Spearman´s rank correlation) and the influence of the factors on the variance of SI (multiple linear regression) were tested (α = 0.05). SI correlated with age, BMI, absolute fat-free mass, relative fat mass, PAL, and puberty category score in both girls and boys (r = 0.18–0.56, p < 0.01), but not with BoneHEI (p > 0.05). Age, absolute fat-free mass, sex, and PAL explained 35% of the variance of SI (p < 0.0001): SI = −0.60 + 2.97∙age (years) + 0.65∙fat-free mass (kg) + 6.21∙sex (0 = male, 1 = female) + 17.55∙PAL. Besides age and sex, PAL and fat-free mass are important factors relating to bone health. School children should perform regular physical activity to improve their bone status. Full article

Risk factors for osteoporosis may vary according to different populations. We aimed to investigate the relationship between risk factors of osteoporosis and bone health indices determined via calcaneal quantitative ultrasound (QUS) in a group of Malaysian women aged 50 years or above. A cross-sectional study was performed on 344 Malaysian women recruited from a tertiary medical centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They answered a self-administered questionnaire on their social-demographic details, medical history, lifestyle, and physical activity status. Their height was measured using a stadiometer, and their body composition estimated using a bioelectrical impedance device. Their bone health status was determined using a water-based calcaneal QUS device that generated three indices, namely speed of sound (SOS), broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA), and stiffness index (SI). A T-score was computed from SI values using a reference database from a mainland Chinese population. Women with three or more lifetime pregnancies, who were underweight and not drinking coffee had a significantly lower BUA. Stepwise multiple linear regression showed that SOS was predicted by age alone, BUA and SI by years since menopause, body mass index (BMI), and number of lifetime pregnancies, and T-score by years since menopause and percentage of body fat. As a conclusion, suboptimal bone health in middle-aged and elderly Malaysian women as indicated by QUS is associated with old age, being underweight, having a high body fat percentage, and a high number of lifetime pregnancies. Women having several risk factors should be monitored more closely to protect their bones against accelerated bone loss. Full article

This study investigates differences and associations between urinary mineral concentrations and calcaneal bone measures assessed by quantitative ultrasonography (QUS) in 4322 children (3.1–11.9 years, 50.6% boys) from seven European countries. Urinary mineral concentrations and calcaneal QUS parameters differed significantly across countries. Clustering revealed a lower stiffness index (SI) in children with low and medium urinary mineral concentrations, and a higher SI in children with high urinary mineral concentrations. Urinary sodium (uNa) was positively correlated with urinary calcium (uCa), and was positively associated with broadband ultrasound attenuation and SI after adjustment for age, sex and fat-free mass. Urinary potassium (uK) was negatively correlated with uCa but positively associated with speed of sound after adjustment. No association was found between uCa and QUS parameters after adjustment, but when additionally adjusting for uNa, uCa was negatively associated with SI. Our findings suggest that urinary mineral concentrations are associated with calcaneal QUS parameters and may therefore implicate bone properties. These findings should be confirmed in longitudinal studies that include the food intake and repeated measurement of urinary mineral concentrations to better estimate usual intake and minimize bias. Full article