Bone Mass in Newborns Assessed by DXA - A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Orthopedics
• Public Health

Background:

• Peak bone mass, crucial for preventing osteoporotic fractures, is established from fetal development through early adulthood.
• Optimal skeletal growth in early life may confer protection against osteoporosis later in life.
• Establishing normative bone mass values in newborns is essential for monitoring skeletal health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To pool data from existing literature to establish a consensus on average bone mass in healthy newborns (≤30 days old).
• To provide a benchmark for neonatal skeletal development.
• To inform future research on early life factors influencing bone health.

Main Methods:

• A systematic review adhering to PRISMA guidelines was conducted.
• Meta-analyses using fixed and random effect models were employed to estimate pooled bone mass parameters for the whole body (WB) and lumbar spine (LS).
• Literature searches were performed across PubMed, Google Scholar, and Embase, with meta-regression used to investigate heterogeneity.

Main Results:

• Twenty-one studies were included in the final analysis after screening 2703 initial records.
• The pooled whole body bone mineral content (WBBMC) was 66.2g (95% CI 65.4–67.05) using a fixed effect model.
• The pooled lumbar spine bone mineral content was 2.3g (95% CI 2.2–2.4).

Conclusions:

• A pooled estimate for WBBMC in healthy newborns was successfully generated.
• Significant heterogeneity was observed among the included studies.
• Further research may be needed to address the heterogeneity in neonatal bone mass measurements.