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Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
African American women; Bone densitometry; Fractures; Osteoporosis in women
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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
T-Scores In African American Women, Catherine Meyer, Brooke L. Griffin, Kathy Komperda, Jill Borchert
T-Scores In African American Women, Catherine Meyer, Brooke L. Griffin, Kathy Komperda, Jill Borchert
Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice
Many older bone densitometer (DXA) machines are programmed to calculate T-scores for African- American patients using peak African-American bone mass as reference standard.
This presents a problem because most data regarding fracture risk has been derived using Caucasian data (Binkley 2002). If the T-score for an African-American woman is calculated using a race-adjusted reference, the same absolute bone density will yield a lower T-score for an African- American than for a Caucasian woman. For this reason, the International Society for Clinical Densitometry has recommended that T-scores for all women, regardless of ethnicity, be calculated from Caucasian reference standards (ISCD 2007).