Plato C C, Purifoy F E
Growth. 1982 Summer;46(2):100-12.
Bilateral hand-wrist radiographs were obtained from 176 female and 448 male adult participants of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA). Between-age group analysis revealed no change with age in total width (TW) of the second metacarpal but a significant increase in medullary width (MW) along with decreases in per cent cortical area (PCA) and combined cortical thickness (CCT) in both sexes. The magnitude of change was greater in females compared to males after the fifth decade, suggesting an interaction of the female climacteric with those processes causing bone resorption at the endosteal surface. Those women currently on estrogen exhibited significantly higher PCA and CCT and lower MW for their respective ages compared to non-users. In females, body mass index (weight/height2) was also associated with increased PCA and CCT and decreased MW. In general, the second metacarpal was longer and larger for right hands compared to left, and for males compared to females. Right hand dominance further enhances growth of the right second metacarpal so that bilateral differences for TW, MW, CCT and LEN become statistically significant. Conversely, left hand dominance promotes growth of the left metacarpal so that none of the variables studied showed significant bilateral differences.
从巴尔的摩纵向衰老研究（BLSA）的176名成年女性和448名成年男性参与者中获取了双侧手部腕部X光片。年龄组间分析显示，第二掌骨的总宽度（TW）不会随年龄变化，但两性的髓腔宽度（MW）均显著增加，同时皮质面积百分比（PCA）和皮质总厚度（CCT）均下降。在五十岁之后，女性的变化幅度大于男性，这表明女性更年期与导致骨内膜表面骨质吸收的过程之间存在相互作用。与未使用雌激素的女性相比，目前正在使用雌激素的女性在各自年龄组中表现出显著更高的PCA和CCT以及更低的MW。在女性中，体重指数（体重/身高²）也与PCA和CCT增加以及MW降低有关。一般来说，右手的第二掌骨比左手更长、更大，男性的第二掌骨比女性的更长、更大。右手优势进一步促进了右手第二掌骨的生长，因此TW、MW、CCT和长度（LEN）的双侧差异具有统计学意义。相反，左手优势促进了左手掌骨的生长，因此所研究的变量均未显示出显著的双侧差异。
