Age-related changes of bone strength phenotypes: observational follow-up study of hand bone mineral density

Summary In a cross-sectional and follow-up study, we evaluated age-related changes of hand bone mineral density in both sexes using data obtained by digital radiographic densitometry in a large Chuvashian cohort. Objectives The aim of the study was to evaluate age-related changes of hand bone mineral density (BMD) in both sexes using data obtained by digital radiographic densitometry in a large Chuvashian cohort. Methods The data were gathered in 1994 (557 individuals) and 2002 (513 individuals). The latter sample included 260 individuals who were studied only during the second expedition and 253 individuals who had been previously investigated in 1994. Digital radiographic densitometry was employed to evaluate hand BMD. Statistical analyses included a maximum likelihood-based model-fitting technique. Results and conclusions Cross-sectional study: Since the third decade of life, men lost hand BMD at all ages, but it remained higher than in women at any age. The most parsimonious and best-fitting piecewise linear models of age-related changes of hand BMD had higher prediction values in females than in males (R=0.48–0.58 vs R= 0.20–0.29, correspondingly). The compact BMD is more sensitive to age changes than the total BMD in both sexes. Longitudinal study: Hand BMD loss was higher in males than in females aged 30–59, but afterwards this trend reversed. The highest loss in both sexes was in ages 50–59.