Similarities and differences between bone quality parameters, trabecular bone score and femur geometry

Bone quality is a critical factor that, along with bone quantity, determines bone strength. Image-based parameters are used for assessing bone quality non-invasively. The trabecular bone score (TBS) is used to assess quality of trabecular bone and femur geometry for cortical bone. Little is known about the associations between these two bone quality parameters and whether they show differences in the relationships with age and body mass index (BMI). We investigated the associations between the trabecular bone score (TBS) and femur cortical geometry. Areal bone mineral density (BMD) was assessed using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and the TBS was assessed using iNsight software and, femur geometry using APEX (Hologic). A total of 452 men and 517 women aged 50 years and older with no medical history of a condition affecting bone metabolism were included. Z-scores for TBS and cortical thickness were calculated using the age-specific mean and SD for each parameter. A 'discrepancy group' was defined as patients whose absolute Z-score difference between TBS and cortical thickness was > 1 point. TBS and cortical thickness correlated negatively with age both in men and women, but the associations were stronger in women. Regarding the associations with BMI, TBS provided significant negative correlation with BMI in the range of BMI > 25 kg/m2. By contrast, cortical thickness correlated positively with BMI for all BMI ranges. These bone quality-related parameters, TBS and cortical thickness, significantly correlated, but discordance between these two parameters was observed in about one-third of the men and women (32.7% and 33.4%, respectively). Conclusively, image-based bone quality parameters for trabecular and cortical bone exhibit both similarities and differences in terms of their associations with age and BMI. These different profiles in TBS and FN cortical thickness might results in different risk profiles for the vertebral fractures or hip fractures in a certain percentage of people.