Bone mineral density of proximal femur in adult Chinese females.

OBJECTIVE

This study was designed to establish bone mineral density (BMD) reference data of proximal femur, research the effect of age, height and weight on BMD of proximal femur, and estimate the prevalence of osteoporosis in a Chinese female population. In addition we compared the results with Lebanese and USA white women reference data.

METHODS

Our study was conducted at one center, including 1578 Chinese women, aged 20-79years. We measured the BMD for proximal femur using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and then established a reference database of proximal femur and set up regression equations of age, height and weight for BMD at proximal femur to research the effects of age, height and weight on BMD. After that, we calculated the standardized BMD and compared them with Lebanese and USA white women reference data.

RESULTS

The peak BMD occurred in the age range 30-39 years for femoral neck and Ward's triangle, and 40-49 years for trochanter in Chinese women, which were later than in Lebanese and USA white women. The BMD of proximal femur in Chinese women were lower than Lebanese and USA white women in most age ranges. Weight profoundly influenced BMD in all age groups, and age and height mainly effected BMD in older age groups. The standardized prevalence of osteoporosis among Chinese women of 50-79 years old was 9.6% in femoral neck, which was higher than Lebanese but lower than USA white women.

CONCLUSION

The BMD database of proximal femur in Chinese women we established is normative and different from Lebanese and USA white women reference data, which provides more reliable information on the prevalence of osteoporosis in China.