Bone mass, microarchitecture and strength are influenced by race/ethnicity in young adult men and women
Abstract
UNLABELLED: Lower rates of fracture in both Blacks compared to Whites, and men compared to women are not completely explained by differences in bone mineral density (BMD). Prior evidence suggests that more favorable cortical bone microarchitecture may contribute to reduced fracture rates in older Black compared to White women, however it is not known whether these differences are established in young adulthood or develop during aging. Moreover, prior studies using high-resolution pQCT (HR-pQCT) have reported outcomes from a fixed-scan location, which may confound sex- and race/ethnicity-related differences in bone structure.
PURPOSE: We determined differences in bone mass, microarchitecture and strength between young adult Black and White men and women.
METHODS: We enrolled 185 young adult (24.2±3.4yrs) women (n=51 Black, n=50 White) and men (n=34 Black, n=50 White) in this cross-sectional study. We used dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) to determine areal BMD (aBMD) at the femoral neck (FN), total hip (TH) and lumbar spine (LS), as well as HR-pQCT to assess bone microarchitecture and failure load by micro-finite element analysis (μFEA) at the distal tibia (4% of tibial length). We used two-way ANOVA to compare bone outcomes, adjusted for age, height, weight and physical activity.
RESULTS: The effect of race/ethnicity on bone outcomes did not differ by sex, and the effect of sex on bone outcomes did not differ by race/ethnicty. After adjusting for covariates, Blacks had…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a cross-sectional, done in people. Its evidence level is 4 of 5 (Low · observational). Observational designs can show an association but not prove cause. Reported size: 51 participants or records.
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