Correlation of Hounsfield Units with Bone Mineral Density and T-Score in Chinese Adults

To examine the association between vertebral cancellous Hounsfield units (HUs), age, bone mineral density, and T-score in a sample of Chinese adults.

The study included a sample of 739 participants. Age, bone mineral density, and T-score of each participant were recorded, and HUs were measured in the L1-L4 vertebrae.

Data analysis revealed that HUs of vertebral cancellous bone across the pedicle level decreased with age, with women having higher values than men up to age 50 and vice versa thereafter. Furthermore, a positive correlation was found between HUs of vertebral cancellous bone across the pedicle level and bone mineral density/T-score in the L1-L4 vertebrae, but with a weaker correlation in the L4 vertebrae. Additionally, HU values for participants with osteoporosis were significantly lower than HU values for participants with osteopenia and normal bone health.

From the findings of this study, it can be concluded that HUs may be a potential predictor of bone health, with implications for presurgical assessment of the quality of bone-screw interfaces for spinal surgery.