Bone mineral density differences at the femoral neck and Ward's triangle: A comparison study on the reference data between Chinese and Caucasian women

The incidence of hip fracture is lower in Chinese women compared with those from western countries, though they usually have lower bone mineral densit y (BMD). In this study, reference data (from Caucasian women) supplied by t he manufacturer of Hologic Inc. was compared with data obtained from health y women in Changsha, Hunan province, P.R.C, A total of 1488 Chinese women a ged 15-95 years were randomly chosen for the study. Measurements of BMD wer e taken at the hip by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) (QDR 4500A, Ho logic Inc., USA). The BMD and the BMD decrease rate were somewhat lower tha n reference curves at all age groups and all sites except for the femoral n eck and Ward's triangle. Chinese women reached their peak BMD 5-10 years la ter than their counterparts, and had a lower BMD decrease rate for about 35 years after peak BMD was attained. The fact that Chinese women take longer time to reach peak BMD and have a lower BMD decrease rate at the neck and Ward's triangle after peak BMD is attained protects them against hip fractu res, and is a phenomenon that needs to be studied in the future.