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Updated: Jul 14, 2026
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Scanning Skeletal Remains for Bone Mineral Density in Forensic Contexts
Published on: January 29, 2018
Correlation between hand and total body bone density in normal Chinese children
Hao Xu1, Jia-Xuan Chen, Tian-Min Zhang
1Department of Nuclear Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital, Jinan University, No. 613 West Huangpu Road, Guangzhou 510630, China. txh@jnu.edu.cn
Bone
|July 3, 2007
Summary
Hand bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC) in children increase with age and are higher in females. Hand measurements using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) show strong correlations with total body bone health.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Orthopedics
- Radiology
Background:
- Adult studies show hand bone mineral density (BMD) correlates with total body skeletal sites.
- Relationships between hand and total body bone measurements in children remain underexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the correlation between hand bone measurements and total body bone health in children.
- To assess the potential of hand dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) as a tool for pediatric bone health assessment.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study of 892 Chinese children (ages 5-14).
- Measured bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC) at the total hand, upper limb, subtotal body, and total body using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA).
Main Results:
- Hand BMD and BMC increased with age in both genders, with females exhibiting significantly higher values than males.
- Age explained more variance in female hand BMD (R2=0.727) than in males (R2=0.596).
- Hand BMD and BMC showed high correlations with age, weight, height, lean mass, and total body bone metrics (r=0.730-0.965, p<0.001).
Conclusions:
- Hand BMD and BMC are significant indicators of overall bone health in children.
- Hand DXA measurements correlate strongly with total body bone status, suggesting its potential as a clinical tool for assessing pediatric bone health.
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