Bone Abstracts

Objectives: Children with compromised weight bearing and limited mobility are particularly at risk for fractures with minimal trauma. Unfortunately, they can also present several obstacles that can impede proper dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan assessment of whole body or spine bone mineral density (BMD). Since the distal femur is the most common site of fracture in those patients, the lateral distal femur (LDF) represents the site that best addresses the challenges of BMD assessment in children with neuromuscular impairments, however, normative data for the Lunar Prodigy DXA Scan are lacking. This study provides paediatric normative data for the LDF in children aged 3–18 years of age using the Lunar Prodigy DXA scan.

Methods: We assessed cross-sectionally 230 healthy Canadian children (49% males, near 90% Caucasian) ranging in age from 3 to 18 years of age. LDF, lumbar spine and whole body BMD were measured using the Lunar Prodigy DXA scan. Sex-specific reference curves for each of the 3 LDF regions were generated using LMS-ChartMaker. LDF Z-scores were calculated then compared to lumbar spine and whole body BMD by correlation analysis.

Results: LDF BMD increased steadily with age and was highly correlated with height and weight (R² ≥ 0.66) as well as whole body and lumbar spine BMD measurements (R² ≥ 0.72).

Conclusion: This is the first study to provide normative data for LDF BMD for children between the ages of 3 and 18 years of age using the Lunar Prodigy DXA scan. In addition, it confirms the feasibility of measuring LDF BMD in children who are unable to undergo DXA assessment at other anatomical sites.

Disclosure: The authors declared no competing interests.