Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Age, gender, and race/ethnic differences in total body and subregional bone density

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Osteoporosis International Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Summary

Total body bone density of adults from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999–2004 differed as expected for some groups (men>women and blacks>whites) but not others (whites>Mexican Americans). Cross-sectional age patterns in bone mineral density (BMD) of older adults differed at skeletal sites that varied by degree of weight-bearing.

Introduction

Total body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) data offer the opportunity to compare bone density of demographic groups across the entire skeleton.

Methods

The present study uses total body DXA data (Hologic QDR 4500A, Hologic, Bedford MA, USA) from the NHANES 1999–2004 to examine BMD of the total body and selected skeletal subregions in a wide age range of adult men and women from three race/ethnic groups. Total body, lumbar spine, pelvis, right leg, and left arm BMD and lean mass from 13,091 adults aged 20 years and older were used. The subregions were chosen to represent sites with different degrees of weight-bearing.

Results

Mean BMD varied in expected ways for some demographic characteristics (men>women and non-Hispanic blacks>non-Hispanic whites) but not others (non-Hispanic whites>Mexican Americans). Differences in age patterns in BMD also emerged for some characteristics (sex) but not others (race/ethnicity). Differences in cross-sectional age patterns in BMD and lean mass by degree of weight-bearing in older adults were observed for the pelvis, leg, and arm.

Conclusion

This information may be useful for generating hypotheses about age, race, and sex differences in fracture risk in the population.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Article Open access 01 July 2023

Enisa Shevroja, Jean-Yves Reginster, … Nicholas C. Harvey

Notes

  1. Participants were excluded from the DXA examination if they had a history of radiographic contrast material (barium) use in past 72 h, nuclear medicine studies in the past 3 days, weighed over 300 lb (self-reported), or were taller than 6 ft 5 in.; the latter two characteristics were related to physical limitations of the DXA table. Females were excluded if they had a positive pregnancy test or said they were pregnant at the time of the examination.

References

  1. Melton LJ, Looker AC, Shepherd JA, O’Connor MK, Achenbach SJ, Riggs BL, Khosla S (2005) Osteoporosis assessment by whole body region vs. site-specific DXA. Osteoporos Int 16:1558–1564

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Araujo AB, Travison TG, Harris SS, Holick MF, Turner AK, McKinlay JB (2007) Race/ethnic differences in bone mineral density in men. Osteoporos Int 18:943–953

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Fatayerji D, Cooper AM, Eastell R (1999) Total body and regional bone mineral density in men: effect of age. Osteoporos Int 10:59–65

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Morton DJ, Barrett-Connor E, Kritz-Silverstein D, Wingard DL, Schneider DL (2003) Bone mineral density in postmenopausal Caucasian, Filipina, and Hispanic women. Int J Epidemiol 32:150–156

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Taaffe DR, Villa ML, Holloway L, Marcus R (2000) Bone mineral density in older non-Hispanic Caucasian and Mexican American women: relationship to lean and fat mass. Ann Hum Biol 27:331–344

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Melton LJ, Khosla S, Achenbach SJ, O’Connor MK, O’Fallon WM, Riggs BL (2000) Effects of body size and skeletal site on the estimated prevalence of osteoporosis in women and men. Osteoporos Int 11:977–983

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Nuti R, Martini G, Gennari C (1995) Age-related changes of whole skeleton and body composition in healthy men. Calcif Tissue Int 57:336–339

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Nuti R, Martini G (1993) Effects of age and menopause on bone density of entire skeleton in healthy and osteoporotic women. Osteoporos Int 3:59–65

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Rico H, Revilla M, Villa LF, Alvarez de Buergo M (1993) Age-related differences in total and regional bone mass: a cross-sectional study with DXA in 429 normal women. Osteoporos Int 3:154–159

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Melton LJ, Riggs BL, Achenbach SJ, Amin S, Camp JJ, Rouleau PA, Robb RA, Oberg AL, Khosla S (2006) Does reduced skeletal loading account for age-related bone loss? J Bone Miner Res 21:1847–1855

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Frost HM (1997) On our age-related bone loss: insights from a new paradigm. J Bone Miner Res 12:1539–1546

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Kanis JA, McCloskey EV, Johansson H, Oden A, Melton LJ, Khaltaev N (2008) A reference standard for the description of osteoporosis. Bone 42:467–475

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. 1999 Current National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/major/nhanes/currentnhanes.htm. Accessed 23 July 2007

  14. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Technical documentation for the 1999–2004 dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) multiple imputation data files. February 2008. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhanes/dxa/dxa_techdoc.pdf. Accessed 10 March 2008

  15. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics (2004) Body composition procedure manual. January. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhanes03_04/bc.pdf. Accessed 10 March 2008

  16. National Center for Health Statistics. Najjar MF, Rowland M (1987) Anthropometric reference data and prevalence of overweight, United States 1976–80. Vital and health statistics. Series 11, No. 238. DHHS Pub. No. (PHS) 87-1688, Oct. Public Health service. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_11/sr11_238.pdf. Accessed 9 Feb 2008

  17. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics (2004) Anthropometry procedure manual. January. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhanes/nhanes_03_04/BM.pdf. Accessed 10 March 2008

  18. Siris ES, Miller PD, Barrett-Connor E, Faulkner KG, Wehren LE, Abbott TA, Berger ML, Santora AC, Sherwood LM (2001) Identification and fracture outcomes of undiagnosed low bone mineral density in postmenopausal women. Results from the National Osteoporosis Risk Assessment. JAMA 286:2815–2822

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Looker AC, Wahner JW, Dunn WL, Calvo MS, Harris TB, Heyse SP, Johnston CC, Lindsay R (1998) Updated data on proximal femur bone mineral levels of US adults. Osteoporos Int 8:468–489

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Nelson DA, Jacobsen G, Barondess DA et al (1995) Ethnic differences in regional bone density, hip axis length, and lifestyle variables among healthy black and white men. J Bone Miner Res 10:782–787

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Baron J, Barret J, Berger M, Centers for Disease Control (1996) Incidence and costs to Medicare of fractures among Medicare beneficiaries aged greater than 65 years—United States, July 1991–June 1992. MMWR 45:877–883

    Google Scholar 

  22. Melton LJ, Khosla S, Atkinson EJ, O’Connor MK, O’Fallon WM, Riggs BL (2000) Cross-sectional versus longitudinal evaluation of bone loss in men and women. Osteoporos Int 11:592–599

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Warming L, Hassager C, Christiansen C (2002) Changes in bone mineral density with age in men and women: a longitudinal study. Osteoporos Int 13:105–112

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Cauley JA, Lui LY, Stone KL, Hillier TA, Zmuda JM, Hochberg M, Beck TJ, Ensrud KE (2005) Longitudinal study of changes in hip bone mineral density in Caucasian and African-American women. J Am Geriatr Soc 53:183–189

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Tracy JK, Meyer WA, Flores RH, Wilson PD, Hochberg MC (2005) Racial differences in rate of decline in bone mass in older men: the Baltimore men’s osteoporosis study. J Bone Miner Res 20:1228–1234

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Luckey MM, Wallenstein S, Lapinski R, Meier DE (1996) A prospective study of bone loss in African-American and white women—a clinical research center study. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 81:2948–2956

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. McDowell MA, Fryar CD, Hirsch R, Ogden C (2005) Anthropometric data for children and adults: US population 1999–2002. Advance data from vital and health statistics no. 361. National Center for Health Statistics. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ad/ad361.pdf. Accessed 8 February 2008

  28. Troiano RP, Berrigan D, Dodd KW, Mâsse LC, Tilert T, McDowell M (2008) Physical activity in the United States measured by accelerometer. Med Sci Sports Exerc 40:181–188

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. LeBlanc A, Lin C, Shackelford L, Sinitsyn V, Evans H, Belichenko O, Schenkman B, Kozlovskaya I, Oganov V, Bakulin A, Hedrick T, Feeback D (2000) Muscle volume, MRI relaxation times (T2), and body composition after spaceflight. J Appl Physiol 89:2158–2164

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Visser M, Pahor M, Tylavsky F, Kritchevsky SB, Cauley JA, Newman AB, Blunt BA, Harris TB (2003) One- and two-year change in body composition as measured by DXA in a population-based cohort of older men and women. J Appl Physiol 94:2368–2374

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Frontera WR, Hughes VA, Fielding RA, Fiatarone MA, Evans WJ, Roubenoff R (2000) Aging of skeletal muscle: a 12-yr longitudinal study. J Appl Physiol 88:1321–1326

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Gallagher D, Ruts E, Visser M, Heshka S, Baumgartner RN, Wang J, Pierson RN, Pi-Sunyer FX, Heymsfield SB (2000) Weight stability masks sarcopenia in elderly men and women. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 279:E366–E375

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Ishiguro N, Kanchisa H, Miyatani M, Masuo Y, Fukunaga T (2006) Applicability of segmental bioelectrical impedance analysis for predicting trunk skeletal muscle volume. J Appl Physiol 100:572–578

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Orwoll ES, Oviatt SK, Mann T (1990) The impact of osteophytic and vascular calcifications on vertebral mineral density measurements in men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 70:1202

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Riggs BL, Melton LJ, Robb RA, Camp JJ, Atkinson EJ, Peterson JM, Rouleau PA, McCollough CH, Bouxsein ML, Khosla S (2004) Population-based study of age and sex differences in bone volumetric density, size, geometry, and structure at different skeletal sites. J Bone Miner Res 19:1945–1954

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Zimmerman SI, Girman CJ, Buie VC, Chander J, Hawkes W, Martin A, Holder L, Hebel JR, Sloane PD, Magaziner J (1999) The prevalence of osteoporosis in nursing home residents. Osteoporos Int 9:151–157

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Conflicts of interest

None.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Room 4310, 3311 Toledo Road, Hyattsville, MD, 20782, USA

    A. C. Looker & L. Borrud

  2. Division of Epidemiology, College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

    L. J. Melton III

  3. Epidemiology, Demography and Biometry Program, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD, USA

    T. Harris

  4. Department of Radiology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    J. Shepherd

  5. Division of Musculoskeletal Diseases, National Institute of Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, Bethesda, MD, USA

    J. McGowan

Authors
  1. A. C. Looker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. L. J. Melton III
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. T. Harris
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. L. Borrud
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. J. Shepherd
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. J. McGowan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. C. Looker.

Additional information

The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, or the Department of Health and Human Services.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Looker, A.C., Melton, L.J., Harris, T. et al. Age, gender, and race/ethnic differences in total body and subregional bone density. Osteoporos Int 20, 1141–1149 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00198-008-0809-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00198-008-0809-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation