Cortical bone geometry in asthmatic children
- 1Department of Paediatric Medicine, Saint Mary’s Hospital for Women & Children, Central Manchester & Manchester Children’s Hospitals NHS Trust, Manchester, UK
- 2Clinical Radiology, Imaging Science & Biomedical Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
- Correspondence to:
Dr M Z Mughal
Consultant Paediatrician & Honorary Senior Lecturer in Child Health, Saint Mary’s Hospital for Women & Children, Hathersage Road, Manchester M13 0JH, UK; zulf.mughal{at}cmmc.nhs.uk
- Accepted 23 December 2005
- Published Online First 1 February 2006
Abstract
At the mid-radius, pre-pubertal asthmatic children had smaller periosteal and endosteal circumferences and thicker cortical shells compared to controls, when assessed by peripheral quantitative computed tomography. Asthmatics had diminished periosteal expansion for muscle size, suggesting that asthma, its treatment, or its effects on physical activity had resulted in impaired adaptation of bone to muscle loading. Alterations in cortical bone geometry might explain the increased fracture risk in asthmatic children.
Footnotes
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Published Online First 11 January 2006
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Competing interests: none declared
