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Updated: Jul 18, 2026
Scanning Skeletal Remains for Bone Mineral Density in Forensic Contexts
Published on: January 29, 2018
Bone mineral density in children and adolescents with neurofibromatosis type 1
David A Stevenson1, Laurie J Moyer-Mileur, Mary Murray
1Department of Pediatrics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84132, USA. david.stevenson@hsc.utah.edu
Objective:
To assess whether children and adolescents with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) have decreased bone mineral density (BMD).
Study Design:
Bone densitometry of the whole body, hip, and lumbar spine was used in a case-to-control design (84 individuals with NF1: 293 healthy individuals without NF1). Subjects were 5 to 18 years old. Subjects with NF1 were compared with control subjects by using an analysis-of-covariance with a fixed set of covariates (age, weight, height, Tanner stage, and sex).
Results:
Subjects with NF1 had decreased areal BMD (aBMD) of the hip (P <.0001), femoral neck (P <.0001), lumbar spine (P = .0025), and whole body subtotal (P <.0001). When subjects with NF1 were separated in groups with and without a skeletal abnormality, those who did not have a skeletal abnormality still had statistically significant decreases in aBMD compared with control subjects (P <.0001 for whole body subtotal aBMD), although they were less pronounced than in those with osseous abnormalities.
Conclusions:
These data suggest that individuals with NF1 have a unique generalized skeletal dysplasia, predisposing them to localized osseous defects. Dual energy x-ray absorptiometry may prove useful in identifying individuals with NF1 who are at risk for clinical osseous complications and monitoring therapeutic trials.
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