Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in the lumbar spine, proximal femur and distal radius in children

Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was used to measure bone mineral density (BMD) in the lumbar spine, proximal femur and distal radius in 48 Japanese children aged 3-18 years. In the normal children (n=32), BMD increased with age in all locations, with a nearly twofold increase from preschool age to adolescence. Most of the children with chronic diseases known to affect bone metabolism (e.g., steroid osteoporosis) (n=16) had low BMD in every region, indicating that these disease states probably affect multiple sites of the skeleton in children. (orig.)