The effect of ethnic group on appendicular bone mass in children

The prevalence of senile and postmenopausal osteoporotic fractures is considerably higher in white than black women. Although the reasons for the genetic difference have not been elucidated, it has been suggested that ethnic differences in peak bone mass may be partially responsible. The present study examined appendicular bone mass (single-photon absorptiometry, SPA) in black and white children between the ages of 6 and 20 years. The sample was stratified for ethnic group, age, and sex. The effect of weight, height, puberty, and skinfold thickness on bone mass was also assessed. The bone width (BW) and bone mineral content (BMC) of males were significantly higher than those of females (p less than 0.0001). There were no statistically significant differences in bone mineral content normalized for bone width (BMC/BW) between the sexes (p = 0.1743 for whites and p = 0.5456 for blacks). The bone mass parameters of black girls were generally lower than those of white girls. After adjusting for height, BMC and BMC/BW of black girls tended to be greater than those of white girls (unadjusted p = 0.0258 for BMC and p = 0.0340 for BMC/BW). White boys tended to have greater bone mass parameters than black boys. After adjusting for height the trends disappeared. Thus, unlike the studies of bone mass in adults from the United States, we were unable to show that age-matched black children have higher bone mass than whites. After adjusting for height, however, the bone mass of black children (especially black girls) was marginally, but not significantly, greater than that of white girls.