Does Gender Play a Role in Bone-mineral Density Measurement Precision?

Completed

Conditions studied: Osteoporosis

In brief

Bone mineral density (BMD) measurement using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is the current gold standard for osteoporosis diagnosis and therapy monitoring. Like all quantitative tests, there is some variability in BMD results obtained when scanning a person more than once. As such, it is current clinical practice, based on the recommendation of the International Society for Clinical Densitometry, that each technologist perform a precision assessment. This approach consists of scanning 30 people twice; the data from which allow determination of what constitutes a real difference in BMD with 95% confidence. A precision assessment typically evaluates a specific clinic's population, using the age range and genders seen at that clinic. However men generally have larger, but often more arthritic, bones than women which may impact the precision results. Therefore, it is possible that gender-specific precision values should be used in clinical practice, however this issue has never been investigated.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT01324713

Run by

University of Wisconsin, Madison

People needed

180

Starts

2010-07-01

Expected to finish

2011-01-01

Last updated by the study team

2015-10-05

Who can join

Age: 65 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Age ≥ 65 years
• Able and willing to sign informed consent

You may not qualify if…

• Inability to have DXA scans performed due to weight ≥ 450 pounds (exceeds densitometer table limit)
• Metallic hardware in, or overlaying, any of the measured skeletal sites

Where it is running

• University of Wisconsin Osteoporosis Clinical Center and Research Program — Madison, Wisconsin, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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