A SUGGESTED METHODOLOGY FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF NATIONAL BONE DENSITOMETRY REFERENCE RANGES - 1372 CAUCASIAN WOMEN FROM 4 UK SITES

This paper presents a simple methodology for combining bone densitomet ry data from different sites in the UK, having instruments from the sa me manufacturer (LUNAR Radiation). Additive normalization factors Mere used on all data prior to inclusion in a reference database which ult imately included data on 1372 Caucasian women, aged 20-70 years, of wh om 749 were post-menopausal. Reference data for spine (L2-L4) and femo ral neck bone mineral density are given in tabular form as 3 year movi ng averages for: (1) all women; (2) perimenopausal women grouped by me nopausal status; and (3) post-menopausal women with respect to years s ince menopause. These data may be used to construct Z-score, T-score o r percentile reporting ranges and may be adopted as the core for a UK reference range.