Radiographic Determination of Excessive Bone Loss In Alaskan Eskimos

The skeletal development of Alaskan Eskimos was investigated from hand- wrist radiographs of 154 children and adults from Wainwright, Alaska, and compared with similar data from Central American and U.S. populations. For skeletally immature individuals in the Wainwright group, estimates of bone age were compared with actual chronological age. Estimates of cross-sectional area and proportion of bone at the midsection of the left second metacarpal were calculated for all Wainwright individuals, using a photo­densitometer. The skeletal development of Eskimo children is similar to that of U.S. groups, based on assessments of skeletal age and changing bone morphology during growth. Eskimo adults display an early onset of bone loss and differ significantly in this respect from Central American and U.S. groups. It is suggested that the rapid loss of cortical bone in elderly Wainwright Eskimos could be the result of former dietary habits though the evidence is uncertain. Present dietary intake appears adequate for the main­tenance of tissue homeostasis in the skeleton