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Degenerative changes at the lumbar spine—implications for bone mineral density measurement in elderly women

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Abstract

Summary

Degenerative changes of the lumbar spine may lead to misinterpretation of bone mineral density (BMD) measurements and cause underdiagnosis of osteoporosis. This longitudinal study of 1,044 women, 75 years at inclusion and followed for 10 years, shows that identification of apparent degenerative changes on the dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan can increase the proportion diagnosed.

Introduction

In the elderly, degenerative manifestations in the lumbar spine may result in falsely elevated BMD values, consequently missing a large proportion of those with osteoporosis. Our aim was to determine the distribution and impact of degenerative changes on lumbar spine DXA over time and its clinical implications.

Methods

Participants were 1,044 women from the population-based Osteoporosis Risk Assessment cohort. All women were 75 years old at invitation and followed up after 5 years (n = 715) and 10 years (n = 382). Degenerative changes were evaluated visually on the DXA image for each vertebra L1 to L4 (intraobserver precision kappa values of 0.66–0.70).

Results

At baseline, apparent degenerative changes were more frequent in the inferior segments of the lumbar spine [5 % (L1), 15 % (L2), 26 % (L3), and 36 % (L4)] and increased over time. At 10 years, the prevalences were 20 % (L1), 39 % (L2), 59 % (L3), 72 % (L4), resulting in a significant increase in overall BMD. In women without apparent degenerative changes, BMD remained stable between 75 and 85 rather than an expected bone loss. At baseline, 37 % had osteoporosis (BMD < −2.5) at L1–L4; exclusion of women with apparent degenerative changes increased this proportion to 47 %. Using L1–L2, which was less prone to degenerative changes, 46 % of women were classified as osteoporotic regardless of degenerative changes.

Conclusion

Degenerative changes were very common in elderly women, accelerated disproportionately over time, were increasingly frequent from vertebrae L1 to L4, and had significant impact on diagnosing osteoporosis. This suggests that routine reporting of spine BMD at L1–L2 would add valuable information for reassessment and monitoring.

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Acknowledgments

We are thankful to all the women who kindly participated in the study and to the staff at the Clinical and Molecular Osteoporosis Research Unit for helping in recruitment of study individuals. This work was supported by grants from the Swedish Research Council (grant K2009-53X-14691-07-3), FAS (grant 2007–2125), Greta and Johan Kock Foundation, A Påhlsson Foundation, A Osterlund Foundation, King Gustav V, and Queen Victoria Foundation, Malmö University Hospital Research Foundation, Research and Development Council of Region Skåne, Sweden, and the Swedish Medical Society.

Conflicts of interest

None.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical and Molecular Osteoporosis Research Unit, Department of Clinical Science Malmö, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden

    M. Tenne, F. McGuigan & K. Åkesson

  2. Department of Orthopaedics, Skåne University Hospital, 205 02, Malmö, Sweden

    M. Tenne, F. McGuigan & K. Åkesson

  3. Department of Radiology, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden

    J. Besjakov

  4. Lund University, Malmö, Sweden

    J. Besjakov

  5. Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

    P. Gerdhem

  6. Department of Orthopaedics, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden

    P. Gerdhem

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  1. M. Tenne
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Correspondence to K. Åkesson.

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Tenne, M., McGuigan, F., Besjakov, J. et al. Degenerative changes at the lumbar spine—implications for bone mineral density measurement in elderly women. Osteoporos Int 24, 1419–1428 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00198-012-2048-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00198-012-2048-0

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