Subjects with osteoporosis have decreased vertebral marrow perfusion and increased marrow fat compared with these parameters in subjects with osteopenia. Similarly, subjects with osteopenia have decreased vertebral marrow perfusion and increased marrow fat compared with these parameters in subjects with normal bone density.

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Background: Sarcopenia is increasingly being recognized as a feature of frailty in old age and is associated with unfavorable health outcomes in Western populations. Little is known about sarcopenia among Asian elderly populations. Objectives: The study was undertaken to study the association between sarcopenia and common chronic illnesses, lifestyle factors, psychosocial well-being and physical performance. Methods: 4,000 community-dwelling Chinese elderly ≧65 years were recruited. Medical illnesses, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity level and psychosocial well-being scores were recorded. Physical performance measured included grip strength, timed chair-stands, stride length and a timed 6-meter walk. Muscle mass was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Relationships between appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM/ht²) and multiple variables were analyzed using uni- and multivariate analyses. Results: Mean ASM/ht² was 7.19 and 6.05 kg/m² in men and women respectively. Older age, cigarette smoking, chronic lung disease, atherosclerosis, underweight, and physical inactivity were associated with low adjusted ASM, which was in turn associated with poorer physical well-being in men. After adjustment to age, lower appendicular muscle mass was associated with weaker grip strength in both sexes. In men, lower limb tests (chair-stands, walking speed and step length) were not related to ASM, while in women, lower muscle mass was not associated with poorer lower limb muscle performance. Conclusions: Sarcopenia in community-dwelling older Chinese men and women was associated with cigarette smoking, chronic illnesses, underweight, physical inactivity, poorer well-being and upper limb physical performance.

Sarcopenia exists among elderly Chinese men and women, albeit at a lower rate than in white persons. This may be due to the lower muscle mass among young men and women or to an attenuated rate of loss in muscle mass with aging in the Chinese elderly. Being underweight is a major risk factor for sarcopenia in both sexes.

The Asian Osteoporosis Study (AOS) is the first multicenter study to document and compare the incidence of hip fracture in four Asian countries. Hosital discharge data for the year 1997 were obtained for the Hong Kong SAR, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand (Chiang Mai). The number of patients who were 50 years of age and older and who were discharged with a diagnosis of hip fracture (ICD9 820) was enumerated. The age-specific incidence rates were deduced and were directly adjusted to the US white population in 1989. The age-adjusted rates for men and women (per 100,000) are as follows: Hong Kong, 180 and 459; Singapore, 164 and 442; Malaysia, 88 and 218; Thailand, 114 and 289; compared with US White rates of 187 in men and 535 in women, published in 1989. We conclude that there is moderate variation in the incidence of hip fracture among Asian countries. The rates were highest in urbanized countries. With rapid economic development in Asia, hip fracture will prove to be a major public health challenge.

Tai Chi had no significant effect on any measure compared to the controls, whereas resistance training improved the insulin sensitivity index in this 12-month study.

The Chinese diet is low in calcium (less than 500 mg/day on average), and previous observational studies have suggested an association between a low calcium intake and risk of hip and vertebral fracture. In this study, we randomly assigned

Purpose:To determine the diffusion of vertebral body marrow with quantitative MR diffusion imaging and to examine whether differences exist between subjects with postmenopausal osteoporosis and premenopausal control subjects. Materials and Methods:A total of 44 consecutive women (mean age, 70 years) with documented bone mineral density (BMD) measured by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (T-score) and 20 normal subjects (mean age, 28 years) were examined with echo-planar diffusion imaging at 1.5 T using b values of 0,20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 seconds/mm 2 . Extravascular diffusion (D) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) were calculated and results from both groups compared. Conclusion:Accumulation of fatty bone marrow associated with osteoporosis is reflected by a decrease in D and ADC. Diffusion imaging may prove useful in the study of osteoporosis.