Bone mineral density of the Lebanese reference population

We determined the bone mineral density (BMD) of normal Lebanese subjects an d compared results with US/European reference data. The investigation was c onducted at one center, and included 858 women and 165 men aged 20-79 years . Spine, femoral and radial BMD measurements were made using dual-energy X- ray absorptiometry. Age-related changes in BMD were similar in form to thos e of US/European reference data. However, BMD values of Lebanese were gener ally lower than US/European values. Spine BMD of Lebanese women was about 8 % lower than US/ European values between ages 20 and 59 years, and 5-6% low er for ages 60-79 years. Femoral neck BMD values for Lebanese women were 8% lower in the young adult years (age 20-39 years), but only 2-3% lower in t he postmenopausal years, compared with US/European women. There were smalle r postmenopausal decreases in femoral and radial BMD in Lebanese women comp ared with US/European women, which led to a convergence of BMD after age 70 years. The BMD of Lebanese men was 5-8% lower than US/European values thro ughout the age range (20-79 years). The effect of weight on BMD ranged from 0.2% to 0.4% per kilogram. Height was not significantly associated with BM D when both height and weight were entered in multiple regression analyses. The prevalence of osteoporosis appeared to be overestimated if the US/Euro pean reference data, rather than Lebanese reference data, were used to calc ulate T-scores.