Bone Mineral Density of the Lebanese Reference Population

We determined the bone mineral density (BMD) of normal Lebanese subjects and compared results with US/European reference data. The investigation was conducted at one center, and included 858 women and 165 men aged 20–79 years. Spine, femoral and radial BMD measurements were made using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Age-related changes in BMD were similar in form to those of US/European reference data. However, BMD values of Lebanese were generally lower than US/European values. Spine BMD of Lebanese women was about 8% lower than US/European values between ages 20 and 59 years, and 5–6% lower for ages 60–79 years. Femoral neck BMD values for Lebanese women were 8% lower in the young adult years (age 20–39 years), but only 2–3% lower in the postmenopausal years, compared with US/European women. There were smaller postmenopausal decreases in femoral and radial BMD in Lebanese women compared with US/European women, which led to a convergence of BMD after age 70 years. The BMD of Lebanese men was 5–8% lower than US/European values throughout the age range (20–79 years). The effect of weight on BMD ranged from 0.2% to 0.4% per kilogram. Height was not significantly associated with BMD when both height and weight were entered in multiple regression analyses. The prevalence of osteoporosis appeared to be overestimated if the US/European reference data, rather than Lebanese reference data, were used to calculate T-scores. Received: 25 February 1999 / Accepted: 9 March 2000