Exploring Age Related Changes in Cortical Bone in Individuals over 50 using Radiographs
Date
2019-05
Authors
Cook, Jacob M.
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Abstract
Cortical bone loss is a general phenomenon in humans and has been found to be correlated with age. Changes in bone morphology are also known to occur throughout the
adult aging process. In this study, I analyzed the relationship between the bone volume ratio (MV:BV) using linear measures of medullary cavity breadth and cortical bone
thickness as a proxy at three areas of the shaft and changes in shaft shape with age in the left femora of 164 non-pathological individuals from the Donated Skeletal Collection at Texas State University. I found that the MV:BV is correlated with age (r=0.38) and that this relationship is stronger in females (r=0.49). I also found that there is site specific
bone remodeling with consistent rates of cortical bone loss in the anterior and lateral sides and greater amounts of endosteal bone loss in the posterior and medial sides of the
femoral diaphysis based on a Generalized Procrustes Analysis. Overall, the majority of variation in the MV:BV can be attributed to other factors. However, age does have a
significant impact on the ratio and shaft shape in the femur. The findings of this study have the potential to be applied in both forensic and bioarchaeological settings for individual identification and paleo-demography respectively. Raw data of the measures taken and residuals from linear regression can be provided upon request.
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Keywords
Age-estimation, Age, Biological profile, Radiography, Femur, Individuals over 50, Bone volume ratio, Medullary cavity, Cortical bone, Diaphysis, Appositional growth
Citation
Cook, J. (2019). <i>Exploring age related changes in cortical bone in individuals over 50 using radiographs</i> (Unpublished thesis). Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas.