Detecting young Japanese adults with undetected low skeletal bone density using panoramic radiographs

Objective: The cortical width below the mental foramen of the mandible determined from panoramic radiographs is a useful screening tool for identifying elderly individuals with a low skeletal bone mineral density (BMD). However, whether the mandible cortical width (MCW) is useful for identifying a low skeletal BMD in men and women of 40 years or younger is not known. Methods: The BMD of the calcaneus was measured by ultrasonography bone densitometry in 158 men and 76 women aged 18–36 years. A logistic regression analysis adjusted for age was used to calculate the odds ratios and 95% confidence interval (CI) of having a low calcaneal BMD, according to the quartiles of the MCW. The areas under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC) for identifying participants with a low calcaneal BMD using the MCW were assessed to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of the MCW. Results: In men, the adjusted odds ratios of a low calcaneal BMD associated with the second, third and lowest quartiles of MCW were 5.66 (95...