Baseline anthropometric indices predict change in vertebral size in early adulthood – A 10-year follow-up MRI study

Abstract

The vertebral cross-sectional area (CSA) has an independent effect on vertebral strength. Recent evidence has shown that vertebral dimensions significantly increase in the third decade of life, and that lifestyle factors such as body size and composition are clearly associated with vertebral CSA. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that general anthropometric traits (stature, total body mass, lean body mass, fat mass, body mass index, waist circumference), each objectively measured at baseline, predict the change in vertebral CSA over the subsequent decade. A representative sample of young Northern Finnish adults was used (n = 371) with repeated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans from ~20 and ~30 years (baseline and follow-up, respectively). Vertebral CSA was measured from the MRI scans with high reliability and low measurement error. The statistical analysis was performed using linear regression models adjusted for sex and exact length of MRI interval. According to the regression models, in descending order of effect size, lean body mass (standardized beta coefficient 0.243 [95% confidence interval 0.065-0.420]), total body mass (0.

Deep learning in sex estimation from a peripheral quantitative computed tomography scan of the fourth lumbar vertebra—a proof-of-concept study

“…Second, the drivers of misclassification should be identified. Males have generally larger vertebrae than females [8]; however, several lifestyle-related factors may influence the vertebrae and increase inter-individual variation in vertebral geometry and microstructure (e.g., age [12,31], body size [32,33], physical activity [34,35], nutrition [36,37]). Although major vertebral pathologies were ruled out, degenerative changes may also have affected the sex estimation accuracy.…”