Age-related changes in vertebral and iliac crest 3D bone microstructure: differences and similarities

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Thomsen, J. S.¹; Jensen, M. V.¹; Niklassen, A. S.¹; Ebbesen, E. N.¹; Brüel, A.¹

Age-related changes in vertebral and iliac crest 3D bone microstructure: differences and similarities

Osteoporos Int. January 2015;26(1):219-228

©2014 International Osteoporosis Foundation and National Osteoporosis Foundation

Affiliations

¹Department of Biomedicine—Anatomy, Aarhus University, Wilhelm Meyers Allé 3, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
Abstract and keywords

Summary: Age-related changes of vertebra and iliac crest 3D microstructure were investigated, and we showed that they were in general similar. The 95th percentile of vertebral tra- becular thickness distribution increased with age for women. Surprisingly, vertebral and iliac crest bone microstructure was only weakly correlated (r=0.38 to 0.75), despite the overall similar age-related changes.

Introduction: The purposes of the study were to determine the age-related changes in iliac and vertebral bone microstructure for women and men over a large age range and to investigate the relationship between the bone microstructure at these skeletal sites.

Methods: Matched sets of transiliac crest bone biopsies and lumbar vertebral body (L2) specimens from 41 women (19– 96 years) and 39 men (23–95 years) were micro-computed tomography (μCT) scanned, and the 3D microstructure was quantified.

Results: For both women and men, bone volume per total volume (BV/TV), connectivity density (CD), and trabecular number (Tb.N) decreased significantly, while structure model index (SMI) and trabecular separation (Tb.Sp) increased sig- nificantly with age at either skeletal site. Vertebral trabecular thickness (Tb.Th) was independent of age for both women and men, while iliac Tb.Th decreased significantly with age for men, but not for women. In general, the vertebral and iliac age-related changes were similar. The 95th percentile of the Tb.Th distribution increased significantly with age for women but was independent of age for men at the vertebral body, while it was independent of age for either sex at the iliac crest. The Tb.Th probability density functions at the two skeletal sites became significantly more similar with age for women, but not for men. The microstructural parameters at the iliac crest and the vertebral bodies were only moderately correlated from r=0.38 for SMI in women to r=0.75 for Tb.Sp in men.

Conclusion: Age-related changes in vertebral and iliac bone microstructure were in general similar. The iliac and vertebral Tb.Th distributions became more similar with age for women. Despite the overall similar age-related changes in trabecular bone microstructure, the vertebral and iliac bone microstruc- tural measures were only weakly correlated (r=0.38 to 0.75).

Keywords: Aging; Bone structure; Bone μCT; Human iliac crest; Human vertebra
Links

DOI: 10.1007/s00198-014-2851-x

PubMed: 25164697

WoS: 000347689400023
History

Received: 2014-04-14

Accepted: 2014-08-11

Online: 2014-08-28

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2016	Bach-Gansmo FL, Brüel A, Jensen MV, Ebbesen EN, Birkedal H, Thomsen JS. Osteocyte lacunar properties and cortical microstructure in human iliac crest as a function of age and sex. Bone. October 2016;91:11-19.
2018	Andreasen CM, Delaisse J-M, van der Eerden BCJ, van Leeuwen JPTM, Ding M, Andersen TL. Understanding age-induced cortical porosity in women: is a negative BMU balance in quiescent osteons a major contributor? Bone. December 2018;117:70-82.
2020	Andreasen CM, Bakalova LP, Brüel A, Hauge EM, Kiil BJ, Delaisse J-M, Kersh ME, Thomsen JS, Andersen TL. The generation of enlarged eroded pores upon existing intracortical canals is a major contributor to endocortical trabecularization. Bone. January 2020;130:115127.
2020	Frost M, Rahbek ET, Ejersted C, Høilund-Carlsen PF, Bygum A, Thomsen JS, Andreasen CM, Andersen TL, Frederiksen AL. Modeling-based bone formation transforms trabeculae to cortical bone in the sclerotic areas in Buschke-Ollendorff syndrome: a case study of two females with LEMD3 variants. Bone. June 2020;135:115313.
2022	Doi M, Chiba K, Okazaki N, Kondo C, Yamada S, Yokota K, Yonekura A, Tomita M, Osaki M. Bone microstructure in healthy men measured by HR-pQCT: age-related changes and their relationships with DXA parameters and biochemical markers. Bone. January 2022;154:116252.
2022	Lamarche BA, Thomsen JS, Andreasen CM, Lievers WB, Andersen TL. 2D size of trabecular bone structure units (BSU) correlate more strongly with 3D architectural parameters than age in human vertebrae. Bone. July 2022;160:116399.
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