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Updated: Aug 16, 2026

Scanning Skeletal Remains for Bone Mineral Density in Forensic Contexts
Published on: January 29, 2018
Poor nutrition in prepubertal Japanese children at the end of World War II suppressed bone development
Toshihiro Yoshimura1, Toshimitsu Tohya, Chikashi Onoda
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kumamoto Rosai Hospital, Yatsushiro, Kumamoto 866-8533, Japan. t-yoshimura@hosp.kumamoto.west.ntt.co.jp
Objective:
To assess the extent to which malnutrition in childhood affects bone mineral density (BMD) decades later.
Methods:
BMDs were compared in healthy women (35-59 years old) who visited our hospital for annual examinations between 1992 and 1993 (group 1) and between 1999 and 2002 (group 2).
Results:
The BMDs of 50- to 54-year-old women in group 1 averaged 0.86+/-0.15 g/cm2, which was significantly (p<0.001) lower than age-matched women in group 2 (1.02+/-0.16 g/cm2).
Conclusion:
At the end of World War II (1945) undernutrition was rampant throughout Japan, and there were unprecedented numbers of cases of malnutrition. BMD was lower in women who experienced those conditions while they were 5 years old in average, a time when rapid skeletal growth was beginning. Thus, nutrition in childhood is a particularly crucial determinant of lifelong bone health.
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