Developing a national reference range for paediatric bone density

Abstract

This study aimed to acquire normative dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA] bone density data for Irish Caucasian children. A total of 162 healthy Irish Caucasian children (84 male, 78 female) aged between six and 16 years underwent anthropometric measurements and a single DXA examination as part of the study. 101 participants (47 male, 54 female] returned diet and lifestyle questionnaires and 48 participants (21 male, 27 female] performed self- assessment of pubertal stage. In order to take account of bone size, areal bone mineral density (aBMD] results were converted to a volumetric estimate, corrected BMD (BMDcorr] using the Kroger method of BMDcorr = BMC/Volume = aBMD x [4/(π x Width]].