SKIN THICKNESS DOES NOT REFLECT BONE-MINERAL DENSITY IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN

Skin and bone both contain primarily type I collagen in connective tis sue matrices and are assumed to be related due to this common organic constituent. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether skin thickness measurements by ultrasound (US) could be used for screening for low bone mass. In 94 healthy, white, non-smoking women, 1-3 years postmenopause, the thickness of the skin of the left upper arm and fo rearm was measured by ultrasound (US). These measurements were compare d with values of bone mineral density (BMD) as measured by quantitativ e computed tomography (QCT) of the lumbar spine and quantitative video micro-densitometry (QMD) of the hand. The correlation found between U S skin thickness measurements and BMD results was of low magnitude and not significant. It is concluded that US measurements of skin thickne ss cannot be used to screen early postmenopausal women for low bone ma ss.