Prevalence in Apparently Healthy Postmenopausal Women of More than 1 SD T-score Difference between Two Adjacent Lumbar Spine Vertebrae (L1–L4) without Any Identifiable Cause

Abstract

The presence of isolated low bone density of a single lumbar vertebra (difference of above 1 SD T-score between two adjacent vertebrae without a probable explanatory reason) seems to be one of the unsolved issues in clinical densitometry. The present study aims to investigate the epidemiology of the latter mentioned difference in BMD. In a prospective manner 4027 apparently healthy Bulgarian women between 50 and 65 years of age underwent а scan of the lumbar spine (L1–L4) on a DXA machine – Hologic Discovery A. The data were collected and analysed with the statistical package SPSS. In the observed group the incidence of the difference of above 1 SD T-score between two adjacent lumbar vertebrae without a causal visible abnormality is quite low – 1.34% (n = 54). In the study population, the mean T-score was 1.49 (±0.469 SD) and the difference itself was between – 1 and – 2.6 SD T-score. A consensus statement and a guideline for further clinical management of patients with this finding are necessary to be created.