ArticleOsteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA2023
MRI-based vertebral bone quality score: relationship with age and reproducibility.
Article in Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed.
- Fragility fracture risk prediction using quantitative magnetic resonance and Vertebral Bone Quality scoring beyond density.World journal of methodology · 2026Review
- Diagnostic performance of the vertebral bone quality score for osteoporosis is minimally influenced by lipid parameters in lumbar fusion patients: a retrospective study.Asian spine journal · 2026Article
- Evaluation of MRI-Based Region-specific Vertebral Bone Quality Score for Bone Mineral Density in Lumbar Fusion Surgery.Global spine journal · 2026Article
- MRI-Based Vertebral Bone Quality Scoring for Opportunistic Osteoporosis Screening in Postmenopausal Women: A QCT-Referenced Study.Calcified tissue international · 2026Article
- Comparison between Hounsfield unit value and vertebral bone quality score for adjacent vertebral fracture risk assessment after balloon kyphoplasty: a propensity score matching study.Asian spine journal · 2026Article
- Anterior-posterior difference of MRI-based cervical vertebral bone quality score independently predicts overloaded vertebral body wedge deformity after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2026Article
- The diagnostic cutoff value of vertebral bone quality score for osteoporosis is significantly influenced by the magnetic field in patients undergoing lumbar surgery.Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery · 2025Article
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Based Assessment of Bone Quality Using Vertebral Bone Quality (VBQ) Scores in Spine Surgery-A Critical Assessment and Narrative Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Emerging MRI-based spine scoring techniques targeting bone quality to assess osteoporosis, vertebral fracture risk, other spinal degenerative diseases, and post-surgical outcomes.La Radiologia medica · 2025Review
- Exploring the impact of body mass index on the accuracy of vertebral bone quality in determining bone mineral density in patients undergoing lumbar fusion surgery.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2024Article
- Novel MRI-Based Pedicle Bone Quality Score Independently Predicts Pedicle Screw Loosening after Degenerative Lumbar Fusion Surgery.Orthopaedic surgery · 2024Article
- Utility of MRI-based vertebral bone quality scores and CT-based Hounsfield unit values in vertebral bone mineral density assessment for patients with diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2024Article
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5 authors.
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Abstract
Vertebral bone quality (VBQ) score is an opportunistic measure of bone mineral density using routine preoperative MRI in spine surgery. VBQ score positively correlates with age and is reproducible across serial scans. However, extrinsic factors, including MRI machine and protocol, affect the VBQ score and must be standardized. PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to determine whether VBQ score increased with age and whether VBQ remained consistent across serial MRI studies obtained within 3 months.
methodsThis retrospective study evaluated 136 patients, age 20-69, who received two T1-weighted lumbar MRI within 3 months of each other between January 2011 and December 2021. VBQ(L1-4) score was calculated as the quotient of L1-L4 signal intensity (SI) and L3 cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) SI. VBQ(L1) score was calculated as the quotient of L1 SI and L1 CSF SI. Regression analysis was performed to determine correlation of VBQ(L1-4) score with age. Coefficient of variation (CV) was used to determine reproducibility between VBQ(L1-4) scores from serial MRI scans.
resultsOne hundred thirty-six patients (mean ± SD age 44.9 ± 12.5 years; 53.7% female) were included in this study. Extrinsic factors affecting the VBQ score included patient age, MRI relaxation time, and specific MRI machine. When controlling for MRI relaxation/echo time, the VBQ(L1-4) score was positively correlated with age and had excellent reproducibility in serial MRI with CV of 0.169. There was excellent agreement (ICC > 0.9) of VBQ scores derived from the two formulas, VBQ(L1) and VBQ(L1-4).
conclusionExtrinsic factors, including MRI technical factors and age, can impact the VBQ(L1-4) score and must be considered when using this tool to estimate bone mineral density (BMD). VBQ(L1-4) score was positively correlated with age. Reproducibility of the VBQ(L1-4) score across serial MRI is excellent especially when controlling for technical factors, supporting use of the VBQ score in estimating BMD. The VBQ(L1) score was a reliable alternative to the VBQ(L1-4) score.
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