Bone age

About: Bone age is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 3693 publications have been published within this topic receiving 100391 citations.

Skeletal age determination based on the os pubis: A comparison of the Acsádi-Nemeskéri and Suchey-Brooks methods

Abstract: After reviewing various systems of age determination based on analysis of the pubic bone, the discussion concentrates on the collection and preparation of an extensive autopsy sample (n=1225) of pubic bones from modern individuals with legal documentation of age at death (death and/or birth certificates). TheSuchey-Brooks method derived from this sample is described. TheAcsadi-Nemeskeri system is evaluated in terms of the documented collection and it is seen that their five stage method focuses only on the early and late morphological changes. The intermediate stages, in which the ventral rampart is in process of completion, are not described. Their suggested age ranges do not correspond with the documented modern sample. Based on these limitations of theAcsadi-Nemeskeri method, applications of theSuchey-Brooks system are discussed.

Population-based study of age and sex differences in bone volumetric density, size, geometry, and structure at different skeletal sites.

Abstract: UNLABELLED In a population-based, cross-sectional study, we assessed age- and sex-specific changes in bone structure by QCT. Over life, the cross-sectional area of the vertebrae and proximal femur increased by approximately 15% in both sexes, whereas vBMD at these sites decreased by 39-55% and 34-46%, respectively, with greater decreases in women than in men. INTRODUCTION The changes in bone structure and density with aging that lead to fragility fractures are still unclear. MATERIALS AND METHODS In an age- and sex-stratified population sample of 373 women and 323 men (age, 20-97 years), we assessed bone geometry and volumetric BMD (vBMD) by QCT at the lumbar spine, femoral neck, distal radius, and distal tibia. RESULTS In young adulthood, men had 35-42% larger bone areas than women (p < 0.001), consistent with their larger body size. Bone area increased equally over life in both sexes by approximately 15% (p < 0.001) at central sites and by approximately 16% and slightly more in men at peripheral sites. Decreases in trabecular vBMD began before midlife and continued throughout life (p < 0.001), whereas cortical vBMD decreases began in midlife. Average decreases in trabecular vBMD were greater in women (-55%) than in men (-46%, p < 0.001) at central sites, but were similar (-24% and -26%, respectively) at peripheral sites. With aging, cortical area decreased slightly, and the cortex was displaced outwardly by periosteal and endocortical bone remodeling. Cortical vBMD decreased over life more in women ( approximately 25%) than in men (approximately 18%, p < 0.001), consistent with menopausal-induced increases in bone turnover and bone porosity. CONCLUSIONS Age-related changes in bone are complex. Some are beneficial to bone strength, such as periosteal apposition with outward cortical displacement. Others are deleterious, such as increased subendocortical resorption, increased cortical porosity, and, especially, large decreases in trabecular vBMD that may be the most important cause of increased skeletal fragility in the elderly. Our findings further suggest that the greater age-related decreases in trabecular and cortical vBMD and perhaps also their smaller bone size may explain, in large part, why fragility fractures are more common in elderly women than in elderly men.

Assessment of Skeletal Maturity and Prediction of Adult Height (TW2 Method)

Abstract: This book describes the Tanner-Whitehouse (TW) approach to bone age determination and presents the new TW2 standards. Drs Tanner, Whitehouse and co-workers are at the Department of Growth and Development, Institute of Child Health, University of London, and the Hospital for Sick Children in London. This new book includes a much clearer description of their method for the evaluation of bone age than in the previously published TW1 standards. Several other significant improvements have been made since the previous study. First of all, the publication gives both line and radiographic illustrations of the various stages of development for each of the bones. It also presents separate standards for boys and girls that recognize systematic differences between the sexes and the fact that girls are not simply more mature boys. Probably the most useful addition to the book is the separate standards for the carpals and the tubular bones. The tubular

Peak bone mass.

Abstract: Peak bone mass, which can be defined as the amount of bony tissue present at the end of the skeletal maturation, is an important determinant of osteoporotic fracture risk.Measurement of bone mass development. The bone mass of a given part of the skeleton is directly dependent upon both its volume or size and the density of the mineralized tissue contained within the periosteal envelope. The techniques of single-1 and dual-energy photon or X-ray absorptiometry measure the so-called ‘areal’ or ‘surface’ bone mineral density (BMD), a variable which has been shown to be directly related to bone strength.Bone mass gain during puberty. During puberty the gender difference in bone mass becomes expressed. This difference appears to be essentially due to a more prolonged bone maturation period in males than in females, with a larger increase in bone size and cortical thickness. Puberty affects bone size much more than the volumetric mineral density. There is no significant sex difference in the volumetric trabecular density at the end of pubertal maturation. During puberty, the accumulation rate in areal BMD at both the lumbar spine and femoral neck levels increases to four- to sixfold over a 3-and 4-year period in females and males, respectively. Change in bone mass accumulation rate is less marked in long bone diaphyses. There is an asynchrony between the gain in statural height and bone mass growth. This phenomenon may be responsible for the occurrence of a transient period of a relative increase in bone fragility that may account for the pattern of fracture incidence during adolescence.Variance in peak bone mass. At the beginning of the third decade there is a large variability in the normal values of areal BMD in the axial and appendicular skeleton. This large variance, which is observed at sites particularly susceptible to osteoporotic fractures such as lumbar spine and femoral neck, is barely reduced after correction for statural height, and does not appear to increase substantially during adult life. The height-independent broad variance in bone mass develops during puberty at sites such as lumbar spine and femoral neck, where the accretion rate is markedly increased.Time of peak bone mass attainment. Despite the fact that a majority of studies did not indicate that bone mass continues to accumulate significantly during the third and fourth decades, it has been generally accepted that peak bone mass at any skeletal site is attained in both sexes during the mid-thirties. However, recent studies indicate that in healthy Caucasian females with apparently adequate intakes of energy and calcium, bone mass accumulation can virtually be completed before the end of the second decade, for both lumbar spine and femoral neck. It is possible that both genetic and environmental factors could influence the time of peak bone mass achievement.Determinants of peaks bone mass. Several variables, more or less independent, are supposed to influence bone mass accumulation during growth; heredity, sex, dietary components, endocrine factors, mechanical forces, and exposure to risk factors. Quantitatively, the most prominent factor appears to be the genetic determinant, as estimated by studies comparing monozygotic and dizygotic twins. That heredity is not to be the only determinant of peak bone mass is of practical interest, since environmental factors can be modified. With respect to nutrition, the quantitative importance of calcium intake in bone mass accumulation during growth, particularly at sites prone to osteoporotic fractures, remains to be clearly determined. The same can be said for the impact of physical activity. Finally, the crucial years when these external factors will be particularly effective on bone mass accumulation remain to be determined by longitudinal prospective studies in order to produce credible and well targeted recommendations for the setting up of osteoporosis prevention programs aimed at maximizing peak bone mass.