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Bone mineral density, osteopenia, and osteoporosis in the rhesus macaques of Cayo Santiago
Author(s) -
Cerroni Antonietta M.,
Tomlinson George A.,
Turnquist Jean E.,
Grynpas Marc D.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/1096-8644(200011)113:3<389::aid-ajpa9>3.0.co;2-i
Subject(s) - osteopenia , bone mineral , osteoporosis , medicine , population , bone density , physiology , environmental health
Abstract This cross‐sectional study investigates metabolic bone disease and the relationship between age and bone mineral density (BMD) in males and females of a large, well‐documented skeletal population of free‐ranging rhesus monkeys ( Macaca mulatta ), from the Caribbean Primate Research Center Museum collection from Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico. The sample consists of 254 individuals aged 1.0–20+ years. The data consist of measurements of bone mineral content and bone mineral density, obtained from dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry (DEXA), of the last lumbar vertebra from each monkey. The pattern of BMD differs between male and female rhesus macaques. Females exhibit an initial increase in BMD with age, with peak bone density occurring around age 9.5 years, and remaining constant until 17.2 years, after which there is a steady decline in BMD. Males acquire bone mass at a faster rate, and attain a higher peak BMD at an earlier age than do females, at around 7 years of age, and BMD remains relatively constant between ages 7–18.5 years. After age 7 there is no apparent effect of age on BMD in the males of this sample; males older than 18.5 years were excluded due to the presence of vertebral osteophytosis, which interferes with DEXA. The combined frequency of osteopenia and osteoporosis in this population is 12.4%. BMD values of monkeys with vertebral wedge fractures are generally higher than those of virtually all of the nonfractured osteopenic/osteoporotic individuals, thus supporting the view that BMD as measured by DEXA is a useful but imperfect predictor of fracture risk, and that low BMD may not always precede fractures in vertebral bones. Other factors such as bone quality (i.e., trabecular connectivity) should also be considered. The skeletal integrity of a vertebra may be compromised by the loss of key trabeculae, resulting in structural failure, but the spine may still show a BMD value within normal limits, or within the range of osteopenia. Am J Phys Anthropol 113:389–410, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.