Ultrasound Measurement of Proximal Phalanges in a Normal Polish Female Population

Abstract

In this cross-sectional study 954 Polish healthy women aged 30-80 years were evaluated (mean age 50.8 +/- 8.9 years). Among them were 460 premenopausal (mean age 44.4 +/- 5.5 years) and 494 postmenopausal women (mean age 56.8 +/- 7.2 years). Women suffering from diseases known to affect bone metabolism and/or treated with drugs that affect bone tissue were excluded. All women were volunteers from six towns in the south of Poland, who underwent bone measurements for screening purposes. Bone status was assessed using an ultrasound device (DBM Sonic 1200, Igea, Italy) that measures amplitude-dependent speed of sound (AD-SoS) in metres per second. Phalanges (II-V) of the non-dominant hand were measured and an average value was computed. In vivo short-term precision was 0.49% for intraobserver, and 0.42% for interobserver measurements. Mean AD-SoS values were: in the whole group, 1974.6 +/- 90.7 m/s; in premenopausal women, 2032.1 +/- 50.0 m/s; and in postmenopausal women, 1921.0 +/- 87.3 m/s (p < 0.0001). The mean decrease in AD-SoS value in the studied population was 6.1 m/s per year. Simple linear regression analysis showed significant, negative correlations between age and AD-SoS: in the whole group r = -0.70 (p < 0.0001); in pre- and postmenopausal women, r = -0.29 (p < 0.0001) and r = -0.58 (p < 0.0001), respectively. Years since menopause (YSM) showed a significant influence on AD-SoS: linear correlation in the whole group resulted in a value of r = -0.59 (p < 0.0001) and in the group of postmenopausal women in a value of r = -0.57 (p < 0.0001). AD-SoS decreased in the first 8 YSM by 5.1% (0.63%/year) and in the next 15 YSM by 5.44% (0.36%/year). In postmenopausal women mean AD-SoS was regressed simultaneously on age and YSM, resulting in AD-SoS = 2181.0 - 4.031 x Age - 3.911 x YSM. In conclusion, ultrasound measurements of proximal phalanges were found to enable detection of age- and YSM-related skeletal changes in a Polish healthy female population. Results obtained in this study showed a premenopausal decrease in the ultrasound parameter (not observed by other authors) and an AD-SoS value lower than those in French, Italian and Spanish populations. The premenopausal decline in AD-SoS, the most important observation, requires further longitudinal investigations to determine factors affecting the skeleton before menopause.

Quantitative ultrasound and peripheral bone densitometry in patients with genetic disorders

“…This method is free of ionizing radiation, devices are portable, and cost of scans is low. In several studies, measurements of hand phalanges allowed the detection of bone changes due to growth (Halaba and Pluskiewicz 2004;Baroncelli et al 2001;Wüster et al 2000) aging or postmenopause (Pluskiewicz and Drozdzowska 1998;Wüster 2001). In cross-sectional studies (Lippuner et al 2000;Wüster et al 2001;Drozdzowska 2003), this method proved an ability to discriminate between healthy people and individuals with different types of low-trauma fractures.…”

Quantitative Ultrasound of Phalanges and Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry of Forearm and Hand in Patients with End-Stage Renal Failure Treated with Dialysis

“…There was a decrease of 0.23% a year in Ad-SOS between the 41-50 and 71-80 year age groups. However, in another study Ad-SOS decreased in a large group of premenopausal women (n = 460) [7]. In our study the results of QUS and all the DXA measurements were weakly correlated with age, body weight and height and also with time of the menopause in women.…”

“…Besides its use in postmenopausal osteoporosis [7], QUS of the phalanges has been performed in epileptic patients after long-term anticonvulsant therapy [8] and in hemodialyzed patients [9]. The proximal phalanges were chosen as the measurement site because they are composed of both cortical and cancellous bone [10].…”

Ultrasound Assessment of Bone Mass in Central Africans Population

“…As it is reported that ethnicity and environmental habit may influences bone quality, those Caucasians references data may lead to contradictory results when used in non Caucasians as black populations of central Africa (WHO Study Group, 1994;Pluskiewicz et al, 1998;Aspray et al, 1996;Kaufman et al, 1993;Joly et al, 1999;Gonç alves et al, 2015;Ribeiro et al, 2010;Dib et al, 2005;Drozdzowska et al, 2003;Moayyeri et al, 2012).…”