Quantitative ultrasound measurements of stiffness index in young adult females

Background: The aim of the study was to investigate the use of quantitative ultrasound (QUS) in the young (20-25years) Saudi females to obtain stiffness index values related to bone quality. Method & Findings: In 101 young females recruited, QUS measurements were performed in the calcaneus region. 33% and 3% had osteopenia and osteoporosis in the calcaneus respectively, stiffness index values = 81.52 and 54.33 respectively. Of the 101 subjects, 65 young females did not suffer from osteopenia in that region with a mean stiffness index = 100.95. A strong association between Stiffness index with weight was found but not with height. Conclusions: We found that more than a third of the young Saudi females sampled suffered from osteopenia in the calcaneus region; body weight had a positive relationship with stiffness index.