TOTAL-BODY BONE-MINERAL AND PELVIS BONE-MINERAL CONTENT AS PARAMETERS OF BONE MASS IN MEN - A DUAL-ENERGY X-RAY ABSORPTIOMETRY STUDY

Total body bone mineral content (TBBM) is a highly discriminating determinant of bone mass. We correlated TBBM with pelvis bone mineral content (PBMC) and pelvis bone mineral density (PBMD) in 179 normal men, in order to observe whether the pelvis is an adequate region of bone mass evaluation. There was a good correlation between PBMC and TBBM (r = 927, p < 0.001), and significant correlations between PBMD and TBBM (r = 818, p < 0.001) and between PBMC and PBMD (r = 0.902, p < 0.001). As the pelvis does not undergo the densitometric changes so often observed in the spine, we believe that the pelvis is appropriate as anatomic region for bone mass evaluation studies.