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Is a low skinfold thickness an indicator of osteoporosis?
Author(s) -
Orme S. M.,
Belchetz P. E.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
clinical endocrinology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 147
eISSN - 1365-2265
pISSN - 0300-0664
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2265.1994.tb02546.x
Subject(s) - osteoporosis , medicine , confidence interval , odds ratio , femoral neck , dual energy , nuclear medicine , urology , bone mineral
Summary OBJECTIVE The association between thin skin and osteoporosis has been known for some years. We wished to assess a simple measure of skinfold thickness (SFT) as a screening test for osteoporosis and to study the effect of chronological and menopausal age on SFT in a group of osteoporotic women and normal controls. DESIGN A case control study of 225 consecutive women who attended an osteoporosis clinic. PATIENTS We studied 225 women, 141 with osteoporosis (mean age 61·8 ±10·5 years) and 65 normal controls (mean age 59·9 ± 8·8 years), with 19 exclusions. METHODS Each patient had routine biochemistry, spinal X‐rays and a dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan of lumbar spine and femoral neck. In addition they had skinfold thickness measured by a single observer using Holtain Tanner Whitehouse callipers over the 4th metacarpal of the right hand. RESULTS Mean skinfold thickness was lower in the osteoporotic group, 1·6 ± 0·4 mm compared to normals 1·8 ± 0·3 mm (P < 0·0001). SFT did not decline significantly with chronological or menopausal age in the normals (correlation coefficients r =−0·06, r =−0·09) in contrast to the osteoporotic group (correlation coefficients r =−0·52, P < 0·001; r =−0·27, P < 0·0001). Subjects with a SFT of ≤ 1·5 mm had a higher probability of osteoporosis (odds ratio 3·12, 95% confidence Interval 1·58–6·14). Subjects with a SFT of ≥ 2·1 mm had a lower probability of osteoporosis (odds ratio 0·305, 95% confidence interval 0·126–0·740). CONCLUSION Our results demonstrate a lower mean SFT in osteoporotic compared with normal women, with a negative correlation between SFT and chronological and menopausal age in osteoporotlcs, but not In normal controls. A low skinfold thickness appears to be an indicator of developing osteoporosis and a high SFT may indicate a normal bone mass.