Total and Regional Bone Mass in Healthy and Osteoporotic Women

Abstract

Osteoporosis is characterized by a reduced bone density, which because of a reduced compressive strength leads to the typical non-traumatic fractures. Although reliable measurements of bone mass have been made for two decades in at least 20 different centers over the world, there is still no definite agreement on the patterns of postmenopausal and osteoporotic bone loss. There are obvious reasons for this controversy: 1) small sample sizes, 2) differences in measuring equipment, and 3) insufficient precision. However, differences in choice of statistics and interpretation of the data also play a role. On the Department of Clinical Chemistry at Glostrup Hospital we have made absorptiometric bone measurements for the last 18 years. The aims of the work presented here have been: 1) to study the pattern of postmenopausal bone loss, 2) to investigate regional differences in bone loss, 3) to study the pattern of osteoporotic bone deficit, and 4) to compare the diagnostic ability of different methods.