Structural trends in the aging femoral neck and proximal shaft: Analysis of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry data
Tj. Beck et al., Structural trends in the aging femoral neck and proximal shaft: Analysis of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry data, J BONE MIN, 15(12), 2000, pp. 2297-2304
Hip scans of U.S. adults aged 20-99 years acquired in the Third National He
alth and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) using dual-energy X-ray
absorptiometry (DXA) were analyzed with a structural analysis program. The
program analyzes narrow (3 mm wide) regions at specific locations across th
e proximal femur to measure bone mineral density (BMD) as well as cross-sec
tional areas (CSAs), cross-sectional moments of inertia (CSMI), section mod
uli, subperiosteal widths, and estimated mean cortical thickness, Measureme
nts are reported here on a non-Hispanic white subgroup of 2719 men and 2904
women for a cortical region across the proximal shaft 2 cm distal to the l
esser trochanter and a mixed cortical/trabecular region across the narrowes
t point of the femoral neck. Apparent age trends in BMD and section modulus
were studied for both regions by sex after correction for body weight. The
BMD decline with age in the narrow neck was similar to that seen in the Ho
logic neck region; BMD in the shaft also declined, although at a slower rat
e. A different pattern was seen for section modulus; furthermore, this patt
ern depended on sex. Specifically, the section modulus at both the narrow n
eck and the shaft regions remains nearly constant until the fifth decade in
females and then declined at a slower rate than BMD, In males, the narrow
neck section modulus declined modestly until the fifth decade and then rema
ined nearly constant whereas the shaft section modulus was static until the
fifth decade and then increased steadily. The apparent mechanism for the d
iscord between BMD and section modulus is a linear expansion in subperioste
al diameter in both sexes and in both regions, which tends to mechanically
offset net loss of medullary bone mass. These results suggest that aging lo
ss of bone mass in the hip does not necessarily mean reduced mechanical str
ength. Femoral neck section moduli in the elderly are on the average within
14% of young values in females and within 6% in males.