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Updated: Jun 8, 2025
Scanning Skeletal Remains for Bone Mineral Density in Forensic Contexts
Published on: January 29, 2018
Genetics and Bone Mineral Density Predict the Fractures in Adults With Osteogenesis Imperfecta: A Prospective Study
Camille Blandin1,2, Corinne Collet1,2, Agnes Ostertag2
1Reference Center for Rare Bone Diseases and Department of Rheumatology, Hôpital Lariboisière, APHP, Université Paris Cité, F-75010 Paris, France.
Context:
Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a rare genetic bone disorder characterized by recurrent fractures. In adults, the value of bone mineral density (BMD) in fracture risk is unknown.
Objective:
We prospectively investigated changes in BMD over time and analyzed the determinants of fracture in OI.
Methods:
Among 106 individuals with grade 1 and 4 OI in the Reference Centre of Rare Bone Diseases in Paris, we included those with BMD measurements at 1 or more skeletal sites (hip, lumbar spine, radius) from 2000 to 2022.
Results:
For 71 individuals with reliable measurements (44 women, 8 postmenopausal; mean age 41.4 ± 13.7 years), baseline BMD was low at the lumbar spine only (mean Z-score -2.3 ± 1.5), affecting mainly men (mean Z-score -3 ± 1.6). Longitudinal changes were assessed for a median follow-up of 5.1 years (interquartile range 3.2-8.8). On adjustment for age, sex, and body mass index, BMD did not significantly change at any site. Logistic regression analysis revealed a high probability of fracture with baseline BMD Z-score <-2 SD vs ≥-2 SD [odds ratio 4.38, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.10-21.75, P = .048] and harboring splicing, stop codon, and frameshift variants of COL1 gene (odds ratio 29.8, 95% CI 2.56-1503, P = .024).
Conclusion:
Our OI cohort showed low BMD at the lumbar spine but no significant change at any site after a median of 5.0 years of follow-up. The probability of fracture was associated with baseline BMD Z-score <-2 SD vs ≥-2 SD and harboring COL1 splicing, stop codon, and frameshift variants.
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