NorthWest Academic Centre, Department of Medicine, The University of Melbourne, St Albans, Victoria, Australia.
Osteoporos Int. 2013 Apr;24(4):1369-77. doi: 10.1007/s00198-012-2082-y. Epub 2012 Jul 20.
Heel ultrasound is a more portable modality for assessing fracture risk than dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and does not use ionising radiation. Fracture risk assessment requires appropriate reference data to enable comparisons. This study reports the first heel ultrasound reference ranges for the Australian population.
This study aimed to develop calcaneal (heel) ultrasound reference ranges for the Australian adult population using a population-based random sample.
Men and women aged≥20 years were randomly selected from the Barwon Statistical Division in 2001-2006 and 1993-1997, respectively, using the electoral roll. Broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA), speed of sound (SOS) and stiffness index (SI) were measured at the heel using a Lunar Achilles Ultrasonometer. Gender-specific means and standard deviations for BUA, SOS and SI were calculated for the entire sample (men 20-93 years, n=1,104; women 20-92 years, n=914) and for participants aged 20-29 years (men, n=157; women, n=151). Associations between ultrasound measures and age were examined using linear regression.
For men, mean±standard deviation BUA, SOS and SI were 118.7±15.8 dB/MHz, 1,577.0±43.7 m/s and 100.5±20.7, respectively; values for women were consistently lower (111.0±16.4 dB/MHz, P<0.001; 1,571.0±39.0 m/s, P=0.001; and 93.7±20.3, P<0.001, respectively). BUA was higher in young men compared with young women (124.5±14.4 vs 121.0±15.1 dB/MHz), but SOS (1,590.1±43.1 vs 1,592.5±35.0 m/s) and SI (108.0±19.9 vs 106.3±17.7) were not. The relationships between age and each ultrasound measure were linear and negative across the age range in men; associations were also negative in women but non-linear.
These data provide reference standards to facilitate the assessment of fracture risk in an Australian population using heel ultrasound.
本研究旨在使用基于人群的随机样本，为澳大利亚成年人群建立跟骨（足跟）超声参考范围。
2001-2006 年和 1993-1997 年，分别使用选举名册，从 Barwon 统计区随机选择 20 岁及以上的男性和女性。使用 Lunar Achilles 超声仪在足跟处测量宽带超声衰减（BUA）、声速（SOS）和刚度指数（SI）。为整个样本（男性 20-93 岁，n=1104；女性 20-92 岁，n=914）和 20-29 岁的参与者（男性，n=157；女性，n=151）计算 BUA、SOS 和 SI 的性别特异性均值和标准差。使用线性回归分析超声测量值与年龄之间的关系。
男性的平均±标准差 BUA、SOS 和 SI 分别为 118.7±15.8 dB/MHz、1577.0±43.7 m/s 和 100.5±20.7，女性的相应值均较低（111.0±16.4 dB/MHz，P<0.001；1571.0±39.0 m/s，P=0.001；和 93.7±20.3，P<0.001）。与年轻女性相比，年轻男性的 BUA 更高（124.5±14.4 vs 121.0±15.1 dB/MHz），但 SOS（1590.1±43.1 vs 1592.5±35.0 m/s）和 SI（108.0±19.9 vs 106.3±17.7）并非如此。在男性中，年龄与每种超声测量值之间的关系是线性的且为负，在女性中也是负相关，但呈非线性。
这些数据提供了参考标准，以方便使用足跟超声评估澳大利亚人群的骨折风险。
