Are femoral bone mass measurements symmetrical?
This issue of the journal offers an interesting article on possible differences in femur densitometry related to the dominance of the upper extremities between left and right handed [1].
Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is based on the measurement of areal bone mineral density centimeter (BMD, g/cm2) in the proximal femur and lumbar spine. Conditions such as osteoarthritis or osteophytic calcifications influence spinal BMD and confer a great value to femoral measurement. Since the DXA technique began being used on the hips, the presumption that there may be a minimal bilateral asymmetry between the proximal femurs has been maintained, but with no clinical relevance. Several research groups have studied this question. It has not been established whether there are systematic differences between the BMD of both hips, and in order to answer the questions: is the bone density in one of the femurs similar to same in the opposite side? which of them to choose?