Does Gender Play a Role in Bone-mineral Density Measurement Precision?

University of Wisconsin (UW)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Osteoporosis

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01324713

M-2010-1075

Details and patient eligibility

About

Bone mineral density (BMD) measurement using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is the current gold standard for osteoporosis diagnosis and therapy monitoring. Like all quantitative tests, there is some variability in BMD results obtained when scanning a person more than once. As such, it is current clinical practice, based on the recommendation of the International Society for Clinical Densitometry, that each technologist perform a precision assessment. This approach consists of scanning 30 people twice; the data from which allow determination of what constitutes a real difference in BMD with 95% confidence. A precision assessment typically evaluates a specific clinic's population, using the age range and genders seen at that clinic. However men generally have larger, but often more arthritic, bones than women which may impact the precision results. Therefore, it is possible that gender-specific precision values should be used in clinical practice, however this issue has never been investigated.

Enrollment: 180 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 65+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Age ≥ 65 years
• Able and willing to sign informed consent

Exclusion criteria

• Inability to have DXA scans performed due to weight ≥ 450 pounds (exceeds densitometer table limit)
• Metallic hardware in, or overlaying, any of the measured skeletal sites

Trial design

180 participants in 2 patient groups

Males

Females