Bone densitometry in children assessed by dual x ray absorptiometry: uses and pitfalls
- M S Fewtrell,
- on behalf of the British Paediatric & Adolescent Bone Group
- MRC Childhood Nutrition Research Centre, Institute of Child Health, London, and Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Trust, London, UK
- Correspondence to:
Dr M Fewtrell, MRC Childhood Nutrition Research Centre, Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, UK;
m.fewtrell{at}ich.ucl.ac.uk
- Accepted 21 December 2002
Abstract
The importance of bone growth and mineralisation during childhood for bone health in adult life is increasingly accepted, with both nutritional factors1 and exercise2 being recognised as influential for normal skeletal development. The appreciation that infancy and childhood are important periods of life for bone development has led to a need for suitable methods for monitoring bone health, both for research purposes and for clinical monitoring of individuals, and hence to an increasing use of bone densitometry in children. This review discusses the role and potential pitfalls of this technique.
- BA, bone area
- BMC, bone mineral content
- BMAD, bone mineral apparent density
- BMD, bone mineral density
- DXA, dual energy x ray absorptiometry
- QCT, quantitative computed tomography
Footnotes
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British Paediatric & Adolescent Bone Group (BPABG): S F Ahmed, Consultant Paediatric Endocrinologist, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Glasgow; J Allgrove, Consultant Paediatric Endocrinologist, Newham General, Royal London and Great Ormond Street Hospitals, London; N J Bishop, Professor of Paediatric Bone Disease, Sheffield Children’s Hospital; N J Crabtree Clinical Scientist, Department of Medical Physics, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham; M S Fewtrell, Clinical Scientist & Honorary Consultant Paediatrician, Institute of Child Health & Great Ormond Street Hospital, London; J W Gregory, Senior Lecturer in Paediatric Endocrinology, University of Wales College of Medicine, Cardiff; Z Mughal, Consultant Paediatrician, St Mary’s Hospital, Manchester; S P Ryan, Consultant Paediatrician, Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Liverpool; N J Shaw*, Consultant Paediatric Endocrinologist, Birmingham Children’s Hospital; C M Smith, Research Associate, Bone Metabolism Group, University of Sheffield; K Ward, Clinical Radiology, Imaging Science & Biomedical Engineering, University of Manchester
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↵* Contact for BPABG
