Bone mineral density in geographically diverse adolescent populations

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Endocrinology
• Bone Health Research
• Adolescent Physiology

Background:

• Accurate bone mineral density (BMD) assessment is crucial for monitoring adolescent skeletal development.
• Geographic variations in lifestyle and environmental factors may influence BMD.
• Establishing global normative BMD data aids in accurate clinical interpretation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To measure lumbar spine BMD in healthy Newfoundland adolescents.
• To compare BMD in this cohort with normative data from geographically diverse populations.
• To determine the necessity of institution-specific BMD data for adolescents.

Main Methods:

• Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) was used to measure lumbar spine BMD in 26 healthy adolescents (ages 8-20).
• Predicted BMD values were calculated using age and gender-matched normative data from six diverse populations.
• Wilcoxon signed-ranks test compared actual BMD with predicted BMD.

Main Results:

• Lumbar spine BMD in Newfoundland adolescents was comparable to predicted values from California, Finland, France, North Carolina, and Switzerland.
• A prediction model based on a Spanish population showed a 4% higher BMD than measured in the Newfoundland cohort.
• No significant differences were observed between actual and predicted BMD for most international comparisons.

Conclusions:

• Adolescent lumbar spine BMD is generally comparable across diverse geographic populations, similar to adult findings.
• Institution-specific normative BMD data may not be required for most adolescent populations.
• These findings support the use of broader, international BMD reference standards for adolescents.