LIMITED VALUE OF ULTRASOUND MEASURED SKIN THICKNESS IN PREDICTING BONE-MINERAL DENSITY IN PERIMENOPAUSAL AND POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN

Measurement of skin thickness has been proposed to be capable of predi cting low bone mineral density and the risk of osteoporosis in postmen opausal women. In order to investigate the association between the two factors, we measured skin thickness on the leg, lower abdomen and for earm by ultrasound scanning, and bone mineral density at the lumbar sp ine, femoral neck and distal radius by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometr y in 60 peri- and postmenopausal women. Only a loose association was f ound between skin thickness and bone mineral density at any site, the highest correlation being between lumbar bone mineral density and abdo minal skin thickness. The results of our study confirm that there is s ome association between the two factors, but the measurement of skin t hickness, although easy and reliable, is not a clinically sufficient m ethod to predict bone mineral density.