Chinese – American Bone Mineral Density Norms

At the 2016 Endocrine Society Meeting in Boston, April 2016, there was a study, “Using Ethnic Specific Bone Mineral Density Norms in Chinese American Women,” performed in Oakland, California. The authors, Stephanie Kim, MD and senior author, Joan Chia-Mei Lo, MD, both of Department of Internal Medicineof Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center, found that using ethnic specific norms for Bone Mineral Density led to higher (ethnic) T-scores by 0.4-0.5 units. As a result, many postmenopausal Chinese women had DXA results that were reclassified from osteoporosis to osteopenia. The re-labeling of the ethnic T-scores may be important in younger Chinese women who may be at a lower fracture risk.