Original Full Length ArticleSpine bone texture assessed by trabecular bone score (TBS) predicts osteoporotic fractures in men: The Manitoba Bone Density Program

- We analyzed bone texture by lumbar spine TBS in 3620 men from the Manitoba cohort.
- We confirmed that correlation between lumbar spine TBS and lumbar spine BMD is low.
- We found that TBS predicts incident osteoporotic fractures in older men.
- TBS is predictor of hip fracture after adjustment for hip BMD or Spine BMD.
- TBS predicted Major Osteoporotic Fracture and Hip Fracture in models adjusted for FRAX without BMD and osteoporosis treatment.

IntroductionOne quarter of osteoporotic fractures occur in men. TBS, a gray-level measurement derived from lumbar spine DXA image texture, is related to microarchitecture and fracture risk independently of BMD. Previous studies reported the ability of spine TBS to predict osteoporotic fractures in women. Our aim was to evaluate the ability of TBS to predict clinical osteoporotic fractures in men.Methods3620 men aged ≥ 50 (mean 67.6 years) at the time of baseline DXA (femoral neck, spine) were identified from a database (Province of Manitoba, Canada). Health service records were assessed for the presence of non-traumatic osteoporotic fracture after BMD testing. Lumbar spine TBS was derived from spine DXA blinded to clinical parameters and outcomes. We used Cox proportional hazard regression to analyze time to first fracture adjusted for clinical risk factors (FRAX without BMD), osteoporosis treatment and BMD (hip or spine).ResultsMean followup was 4.5 years. 183 (5.1%) men sustain major osteoporotic fractures (MOF), 91 (2.5%) clinical vertebral fractures (CVF), and 46 (1.3%) hip fractures (HF). Correlation between spine BMD and spine TBS was modest (r = 0.31), less than correlation between spine and hip BMD (r = 0.63). Significantly lower spine TBS were found in fracture versus non-fracture men for MOF (p < 0.001), HF (p < 0.001) and CVF (p = 0.003). Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for incident fracture discrimination with TBS was significantly better than chance (MOF AUC = 0.59, p < 0.001; HF AUC = 0.67, p < 0.001; CVF AUC = 0.57, p = 0.032). TBS predicted MOF and HF (but not CVF) in models adjusted for FRAX without BMD and osteoporosis treatment. TBS remained a predictor of HF (but not MOF) after further adjustment for hip BMD or spine BMD.ConclusionWe observed that spine TBS predicted MOF and HF independently of the clinical FRAX score, HF independently of FRAX and BMD in men. Studies with more incident fractures are needed to confirm these findings.