Reference Data for Lunar iDXA for the Assessment of Bone Health in Indian Children and Youth: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Objective: Dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is the commonest bone densitometry technique in children. As no pediatric reference database for Indian children using a narrow fan beam densitometer is available, the aim of the study was to provide sex- and age-specific reference percentile curves for the assessment of bone health using the Lunar iDXA in 1-19-year-old Indian children.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out between November 2017 and July 2022 involving 1247 (607 girls) healthy children from Pune, India. The bone mineral content [BMC (g)], bone area [BA (cm2)], and bone mineral density [BMD (g/cm2)] were measured using the GE-Lunar iDXA narrow-angle fan beam scanner. Reference percentile curves were generated for total body BMC (TBBMC), total body BA (TBBA), lumbar spine bone mineral apparent density [BMAD (g/cm3)], and left femoral neck BMAD. Additionally, we provided percentile curves for TBBA relative to height, TBBMC relative to TBBA, lean body mass (LBM) relative to height, and TBBMC relative to LBM.

Results: Mean (SD) bone parameters were expressed by age groups for boys and girls separately. The average annual age-related increase in TBBMD, lumbar spine BMD, and femoral neck BMD was 6.3, 7.2, and 4.5%, respectively, across different age groups. The median TBBA and TBBMC for height were higher in boys than girls by 14.7 and 24.9%, respectively. Similarly, the median TBBMC for LBM was 36.8% higher in boys as compared to girls.

Conclusions: The study reports reference curves for DXA parameters (narrow fan beam) for Indian children and youth.