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Age-related variations in trunk composition and patterns of regional bone and soft tissue changes in adult Caucasian women by DXA

  • Bone and Cartilage
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Abstract

We explored the regional variations in body composition with advancing age in healthy Caucasian females living in the Mediterranean area. The objectives of this study were to establish body composition values for the trunk in healthy women of a Greek origin and to evaluate the effects of aging on the distribution of truncal bone mass, fat mass (FM) and lean mass (LM). Body composition of the trunk and detailed analysis of its anatomical components—the ribs, the thoracic spine, the lumbar spine and the pelvis, and FM and LM ratios––were calculated in 330 women aged 20–85 years, using DXA. Peak bone mineral density (BMD) of the trunk was attained between ages 30 and 33. The overall truncal BMD reduction with age was 20.7% (p < 0.001). Peak %LM of the trunk was achieved at age 20. The overall reduction of %LM with age for the trunk was 9.8% (p < 0.001). Peak %FM of the trunk was attained between ages 68 and 73, and the overall %FM reduction with age was 2.8% (p > 0.05). Multiple comparative analyses showed that the 51–60 years age group was the landmark age for significant changes of truncal bone mass measures across all age groups (p = 0). For truncal LM and FM metrics, multigroup comparative analysis showed the turning point of significant changes in soft tissue was the 41–50 age bracket (p = 0 and p = 0, respectively). In Greek women, truncal %LM exceeded by far %FM across all ages (p = 0). Our results suggest that aging affects body composition of the trunk in ambulatory healthy women of a Greek origin differently, leading to menopausal loss of bone mass, senior adulthood loss of lean mass, and middle-age storage of fat mass. In adult women, these age-related associations between bone and soft tissue metrics on DXA exams carry implications for the attainment of optimal peak values and shifts in body composition overtime, impacting lifelong skeletal health.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank J. Kalef-Ezra (Dept. of Medical Physics) for support in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, University Hospital of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece

    Stavroula J. Theodorou

  2. Department of Radiology, General Hospital of Ioannina and National Healthcare System, 45444, Ioannina, Greece

    Daphne J. Theodorou

  3. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece

    Vassiliki Kigka & Ioannis Gkiatas

  4. Department of Nuclear Medicine, Bone Densitometry Section, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece

    Andreas Fotopoulos

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  5. Andreas Fotopoulos
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Contributions

All authors contributed substantially to the study conception and design of this work. Data collection was performed by SJT and AF. The statistical analysis was performed by SJT, VK, and IG. The first draft of the manuscript was written by SJT and DJT who take responsibility for important intellectual content. This project was coordinated by AF. The final manuscript was read and approved by all authors for publication. All authors agree to be accountable for all aspects of this work.

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Correspondence to Daphne J. Theodorou.

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SJT, DJT, VK, IG, and AF declare that they have no conflict of interest. None of the authors has any financial or non-financial interests that are directly or indirectly related to the work submitted for this publication to disclose.

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Ethics approval protocol number = 929a/29–06-2020, University of Ioannina School of Medicine. All authors take full responsibility for the integrity and accuracy of all aspects of the work.

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Theodorou, S.J., Theodorou, D.J., Kigka, V. et al. Age-related variations in trunk composition and patterns of regional bone and soft tissue changes in adult Caucasian women by DXA. Rheumatol Int 44, 349–356 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-023-05514-z

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