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Enhanced bone quality assessment through trabecular bone score and bone mineral density in lumbar spine.

Jul 2026 · Journal of clinical densitometry · Vol 29 4, pp. 101723 · 0 citations · 35 references
Medicine

Abstract

Purpose

Bone mineral density (BMD) alone is insufficient to fully capture fracture risk. This study investigated the association between lumbar spine BMD (LS-BMD) and trabecular bone score (TBS) and constructed age- and sex-specific centile reference curves for both measures in a Taiwanese population.

Methods

This cross-sectional study included 1,196 participants. LS-BMD was measured at L1-L4 by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and TBS was derived from the same images using TBS iNsight software (Med-Imaps). Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression were performed to examine BMD-TBS associations and identify predictors of TBS variation. Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale and Shape (GAMLSS) with cubic spline smoothing was applied separately by sex to generate continuous age-specific centile curves (5th-95th percentiles) for ages 20-90 years.

Results

The cohort comprised 530 (44.3%) participants with normal BMD, 493 (41.2%) with osteopenia, and 173 (14.5%) with osteoporosis. LS-BMD and TBS were positively correlated (r = 0.68). LS-BMD, BMI, and age were significant independent predictors of TBS (adjusted R² = 0.672); menopausal status was not. GAMLSS centile curves revealed that female LS-BMD peaked at ages 30-40 years and declined sharply after age 50, while male upper BMD centiles remained stable despite concurrent TBS decline, a BMD-TBS dissociation undetectable by mean-based analyses.

Conclusion

LS-BMD and TBS provide complementary information on bone quantity and microarchitectural integrity. The sex-specific GAMLSS-derived centile curves constitute the first full-distribution normative reference standards for LS-BMD and TBS in a Taiwanese population, extending beyond conventional T-score classification.

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