Heterogeneity in Spinal Bone Mineral Density Among Young Adults From Three Eastern Provincial Capital Cities in Mainland China

This study compares spinal volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD) with spinal areal bone mineral density (aBMD) among young adults from 3 eastern provincial capital cities in Mainland China. A total of 416 young adults (age range: 20-40 yr) from 3 eastern provincial capital cities (Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou) in Mainland China were recruited in this study. From each subject, the vBMD of the lumbar spine was measured by the Mindways quantitative computed tomography system. Moreover, the aBMD of the lumbar spine, measured by the dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, was extracted from a previous multicenter large-scale study, and the 420 participants were matched by age, gender, height, weight, as well as geographic territory. The vBMD and the aBMD values were further compared and analyzed. Generally, the bone mineral density (BMD) results were significantly different among participants from the 3 cities (p <0.05). Specifically, both vBMD and aBMD values of participants from Beijing were significantly different from those from Guangzhou (p <0.05). Additionally, a statistically significant difference in aBMD values was also found between participants from Beijing and Shanghai (p <0.05). However, no significant differences were found between participants from Shanghai and Guangzhou in terms of the aBMD and vBMD values (p > 0.05 and p > 0.05). Interestingly, the overall mean vBMD value was 5.9% greater in women than those in men for all the 3 cities (p <0.001). This study demonstrated an overall heterogeneity in spinal BMD among young adults from 3 eastern provincial capital cities in Mainland China. Specifically, the taller and heavier young adults from the northern part of China have smaller spinal vBMD but higher spinal aBMD values than those who were shorter and lighter from the southern part of China.