Isabelle Legroux-Gérot, Aurore Nottez, Eric Lespessailles, Christian Roux, Julien Paccou, Bernard Cortet, Patrice Fardellone, Camille Ternynck, Rose-Marie Javier, Pascal Guggenbuhl, Isabelle Henry-Desailly, François Robin, Sami Kolta, CHU Lille, Marrow Adiposity & Bone Lab - Adiposité Médullaire et Os - ULR 4490 (MABLab (ex-pmoi)), Université du Littoral Côte d'Opale (ULCO)-Université de Lille-Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire [Lille] (CHRU Lille), CHU Strasbourg, CHU Amiens-Picardie, Evaluation des technologies de santé et des pratiques médicales - ULR 2694 (METRICS), Université de Lille-Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire [Lille] (CHRU Lille), Nutrition, Métabolismes et Cancer (NuMeCan), Université de Rennes 1 (UR1), Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), CHU Pontchaillou [Rennes], Imagerie Multimodale Multiéchelle et Modélisation du Tissu Osseux et articulaire (I3MTO), Université d'Orléans (UO), Centre de Recherche Épidémiologie et Statistique Sorbonne Paris Cité (CRESS (U1153 / UMR_A_1125 / UMR_S_1153)), Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers [CNAM] (CNAM)-Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (USPC)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Université de Paris (UP)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), SFR (Societe Francaise de Rhumatologie), Hôpital de Hautepierre [Strasbourg], Service de Rhumatologie - AMIENS (AMIENS - Rhumato), Caractérisation du tissu osseux par imagerie : techniques et applications, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre Hospitalier Régional d'Orléans (CHR)-Université d'Orléans (UO), Centre Hospitalier Régional d'Orléans (CHR), Université de Rennes (UR)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Mécanismes physiopathologiques et conséquences des calcifications vasculaires - UR UPJV 7517 (MP3CV), Université de Picardie Jules Verne (UPJV)-CHU Amiens-Picardie, Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers [CNAM] (CNAM), and HESAM Université - Communauté d'universités et d'établissements Hautes écoles Sorbonne Arts et métiers université (HESAM)-HESAM Université - Communauté d'universités et d'établissements Hautes écoles Sorbonne Arts et métiers université (HESAM)-Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (USPC)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)
International audience; The purpose of this multicentric study was to evaluate the prevalence and causes of Elevated Bone Mass (EBM) in patients who underwent DXA scanning over a 10-year period. The prevalence of EBM was 1 in 100. The main causes of EBM were degenerative spine disorders and renal osteodystrophy. Introduction Reports of elevated bone mass (EBM) on routine dual energy X-Ray absorptiometry (DXA) scanning are not infrequent. However, epidemiological studies of EBM are few and definition thresholds are variable. The purpose of this French multicentric study was to evaluate the prevalence and causes of EBM in adult patients who underwent DXA scanning over a 10-year period. Methods This multicentric, retrospective study was conducted in six French regional bone centres. DXA databases were initially searched for individuals with a bone mineral density (BMD) Z-score >= +4 at any site in the lumbar spine or hip from April 1st, 2008 to April 30st, 2018. Results In all, 72,225 patients with at least one DXA scan were identified. Of these, 909 (322 men and 587 women) had a Z-score >= + 4, i.e. a prevalence of 1.26% [1.18-1.34%]. The DXA scan reports and imagery and medical records of the 909 EBM patients were reviewed and 936 causes were found. In 42 patients (4%), no cause could be determined due to unavailability of data. Artefactual causes of EBM were found in 752 patients (80%), in whom the predominant cause was degenerative disease of the spine (613 patients, 65%). Acquired causes of focal EBM-including Paget's disease (n = 7)-were found in 12 patients (1%), and acquired causes of generalized EBM-including renal osteodystrophy (n = 32), haematological disorders (n = 20) and hypoparathyroidism (n = 15)-in 84 patients (9%). Other causes were rare hereditary diseases and unknown EBM in 19 (2%) and 27 (3%) cases respectively. Conclusions The prevalence of EBM was approximately 1 in 100. These findings suggest that degenerative disease of the spine is the main cause of EBM, but that acquired or hereditary diseases are also causal factors.