Proposed diagnostic volumetric bone mineral density thresholds for osteoporosis and osteopenia at the cervicothoracic spine in correlation to the lumbar spine

ConclusionOur data show a high correlation between clinically used mean L1 –L3 values and vBMD values elsewhere in the spine, independent of age. The proposed cut-off values for the cervicothoracic spine therefore may allow the determination of low bone mass even in clinical cases where only parts of the spine are imaged.Key PointsvBMD of all cervicothoracic vertebrae showed strong correlation with lumbar vertebrae (L1 –L3), with a median Pearson’s correlation coefficient of r = 0.87 (range: rC2 =  0.76 to rT12 =  0.96).The correlation coefficients were significantly lower (p  <  0.0001) without excluding fractured and moderate to severely degenerated vertebrae, median r = 0.82 (range: rC2 =  0.69 to rT12 =  0.93).We postulate that trabecular vBMD<  200 mg/ml for the cervical spine and<  100 mg/ml for the thoracic spine are strong indicators of osteoporosis, similar to<  80 mg/ml at the lumbar spine.
Source: European Radiology - Category: Radiology Source Type: research