Evaluation of tibial cortical bone by ultrasound velocity in oriental females.

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Abstract
In order to evaluate the feasibility of detecting bone status by measuring cortical ultrasound velocity, ultrasonic transmission velocity of the anterior cortex of shin was measured on 175 normal Chinese females aged 31-75 years (mean 52.3 +/- SD 9.1 years). The data were compared with bone mineral density (BMD) of the lumbar spine and/or hip measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), which was performed on the same day as speed of sound (SOS) examination. Comparison was made with SOS of Caucasian women previously reported in the literature. SOS of three volunteers measured by two different operators were also enrolled in our study for precision testing. The mean value of SOS of the 175 females was 3850.7 +/- 119.3 m s-1 (range: 3411.7-4220.5 m s-1), the peak value being in the fourth decade. The rate of decrease of transmission velocity per decade from fourth decade to fifth decade was 1.7%, while that of fifth decade to sixth decade was 2.2% and that of sixth decade to seventh decade was 4.0%. The interoperative and intraoperative coefficient variance with and without reposition were under 0.32%. SOS moderately correlated with BMD at different sites, the best correlation being with the lumbar spine anteroposterior projection (r = 0.509; p < 0.0001, Pearson's test). There were significant differences in SOS between pre- and post-menopausal groups (p = 0.01, ANOVA test), and between peri- and post-menopausal groups (p = 0.02), but there was no correlation of body weight and height with SOS. SOS also inversely correlated with age and post-menopausal duration. The mean value of SOS in our study was similar to that of Caucasians, but the rate of decrease over 50 years of age was faster. The rate of decline of tibial cortical SOS was similar to that of trabecular bone as previously reported in the literature. As there is a significant decrease of SOS in older females, and older Oriental females suffer from an accelerated cortical bone loss, it is concluded that cortical bone SOS may be a useful method for detecting potential osteoporotic patients in this ethnic group.