Summary: In a cross-sectional retrospective study, we examined the prevalence of significant opposite hip bone mineral density difference among white and black women. Left-right hip bone mineral density difference was a common finding in both races, raising the possibility that osteoporosis can be missed if only one hip is imaged.
Introduction: We examined the prevalence of significant left-right hip bone mineral density (BMD) difference among black and white female subjects and its implications on the diagnosis of osteoporosis.
Methods: This was a retrospective review of dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) data in black and white subjects age 50 years and older. One thousand four hundred seventy-seven scans obtained using a GE Lunar Prodigy scanner in dual hip mode were analyzed (24% black, 76% white). Significant left-right hip BMD difference was considered present when the subregion least significant change (LSC) was exceeded. Its prevalence was determined, along with consequences on the diagnosis of osteoporosis.
Results: Significant differences in BMD were common in both races; the LSC was exceeded in 47% of the patients at the total hip, 37% at the femoral neck, and 53% at the trochanter. Diagnostic agreement was lower when the LSC was exceeded than when it was not. The LSC was exceeded in a statistically significant number of black and white patients with normal or osteopenic spines and unilateral hip osteoporosis.
Conclusions: Significant left-right hip BMD difference is a common finding among black and white women and can result in osteoporosis being missed if only one hip is imaged.