Comparison of Bone Mineral Density among Residents of a Mountain Village and a Fishing Village in Japan

Objective. To compare the bone mineral density of residents of a mountain village with that of residents of a fishing village in Mie Prefecture, Japan. Methods. Microdensitometry was used to measure bone mineral density of the second metacarpal bone of 202 participants living in a mountain village and of 852 participants living in a fishing village to identify contributory factors for osteoporosis. The participants were interviewed using a questionnaire on alcohol consumption, fish intake, milk intake, and daily activity. Results. Analysis of covariance revealed that bone mineral density was significantly higher among the participants living in a fishing village than among those living in a mountain village (2.5–2.9 versus 2.1–2.7 mmAl; p<0.001). A higher proportion of women in the fishing village than of those in the mountain village consumed alcohol (17% versus 10%; p<0.05). Conclusion. Nutrition may be a contributory factor to the lower incidence of osteoporosis among residents of the fishing village compared with those of the mountain village.

Bone Mineral Density in Geographically Diverse Adolescent Populations

Objective. Measure bone mineral density (BMD) in healthy Newfoundland adolescents and determine whether BMD is comparable in geographically diverse adolescent populations. Study design. Lumbar spine BMD was measured by dual-energy radiograph absorptiometry in 26 healthy adolescents between ages 8 and 20 years. The age and gender of these subjects were used to predict BMD from equations derived from normative BMD data in six geographically diverse populations. The actual BMD value obtained for each subject was then compared with each of the six predicted BMD values for that adolescent using the Wilcoxon signed-ranks test. Results. Actual lumbar spine BMD in Newfoundland adolescents was not significantly different from that predicted by age and gender if they were from California, Finland, France, North Carolina, and Switzerland. Only the prediction based on the Spanish population resulted in a 4% greater BMD than was actually measured in the Newfoundland adolescents. Conclusions. Lumbar spine BMD measurements for most healthy adolescent populations, as in adults, are comparable despite geographic diversity. Thus, generation of institution-specific normative BMD data may not be necessary for most adolescent populations.