Bone mass measurements have been shown to be useful determinants of the risk of development of osteoporotic fractures and may help identify individuals who are most likely to benefit from both primary and secondary prevention of osteoporosis. As standard bone density measurements are not available to all physicians, there is a need for a fast, inexpensive, and widely available technique to measure bone mass. Radiographic absorptiometry of the phalanges requires only routine radiography with processing of the films done at a special off-site laboratory. We performed a preliminary investigation to see whether this simple technique could be used to predict a low bone mass as defined by dual- and single-photon absorptiometry. Correlations between radiographic absorptiometry. Correlations between radiographic absorptiometry and the standard techniques were as good as those among the standard techniques themselves (r = 0.58-0.9). Radiographic absorptiometry measurements predicted low bone mass of the lumbar spine and femoral neck with 90% and 82% sensitivity respectively. If further evaluation supports these initial conclusions, radiographic absorptiometry may be useful as a screening technique for primary care physicians and in research settings where dual-photon or dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry are impossible.

The state of Mississippi has consistently been ranked as the state with most number of obese people in the United States with prevalence rates of >30%. Our aims in this study were to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adults diagnosed with haemophilia in Mississippi, and to assess whether race/ethnicity and the severity of haemophilia are important risk factors. A retrospective chart review was performed for all haemophilic patients seen at the Mississippi Hemophilia Treatment Center. Patients were classified into two major age groups: age 2-19.9 years and > or =20 years. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated from the height and weight in kg m(-2) from the last clinic visit. Out of a total of 132 haemophilic patients, 61% were white and 37% were African American. Overall, 51% of the haemophilic patients were either obese or overweight. The prevalence of obesity in the adult (> or =20 years old) haemophilic patients was 36% and an additional 32% were overweight. A significantly greater proportion of patients >20 years old were overweight or obese as compared with the patients in the 2-19.9 year age range (P < 0.002). However, race/ethnicity and severity of haemophilia were not significant risk factors for overweight and obesity. There is a very high prevalence of obesity in the Mississippi haemophilic population, especially in adults. Particular attention at clinic visits should be paid to the BMI in order to identify patients that are overweight or obese to allow for early and appropriate intervention.

The interrelationships between measurements of bone mass and total-body bone mineral were examined in a cross-sectional study of normal healthy women aged 17-82 years. In addition we evaluated the relationship between measures of body composition, estimated by four independent techniques, and bone mass in the same population. Considering the group as a whole, bone mass at all sites correlated with each other and with total-body bone mineral (TBBM). Cancellous and cortical sites could predict TBBM equally well. As expected, all measurements of bone mass were significantly lower in postmenopausal women in comparison to premenopausal women. Declines in bone mass were only seen in premenopausal women in the femoral neck and Ward's triangle, not in lumbar spine, radius, or skeleton as a whole. In postmenopausal women bone mass correlated negatively with age and years from menopause equally at all sites. TBBM was significantly related to height and weight in both premenopausal and postmenopausal women. In premenopausal and postmenopausal women TBBM also correlated with fat mass, but TBBM was much better correlated with percentage body fat in premenopausal than postmenopausal women. TBBM was a constant proportion of lean body mass in premenopausal women, but the fraction of lean mass occupied by the skeleton declined with age in postmenopausal women. Correction of TBBM for lean mass did not change the relationship between TBBM and percentage fat in premenopausal women but eliminated the relationship in postmenopausal women. Regional measurements, which are at least partially corrected for body size by dividing mass by area, correlated less well with height and weight and with any index of obesity, especially in postmenopausal women.

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