Table 1

HR-pQCT bone variables at the dominant and non-dominant distal tibia and radius, before and after spaceflight

Dominant limbNon-dominant limb
Pre-flightPost-flightPre-flightPost-flight
Tibia
F.Load (n)10 643.5 (9302.5, 12 483.5)10 163.4 (8943.5, 12 013.0)**10 485.0 (9743.3, 12 261.0)10 209.0 (9077.3, 11 473.0)**
Tt.vBMD (mg/cm3)320.1 (296.5, 357.1)317.2 (286.0, 350.5)**324.0 (314.5, 364.1)317.7 (303.4, 353.0)**
Tb.vBMD (mg/cm3)189.9 (164.7, 213.7)188.5 (163.3, 207.5)**183.3 (178.4, 208.4)181.7 (175.2, 202.6)**
Tb.BV/TV (%)27.70 (24.65, 30.52)27.59 (24.34, 29.90)**26.76 (25.93, 29.94)26.55 (25.45, 29.26)**
Tb.Th (mm)0.269 (0.258, 0.291)0.266 (0.254, 0.288)**0.261 (0.258, 0.278)0.259 (0.253, 0.278)*
Tb.N (1/mm)1.39 (1.22, 1.47)1.37 (1.22, 1.50)1.38 (1.21, 1.54)1.39 (1.39, 1.39)*
Tb.Sp (mm)0.68 (0.63, 0.76)0.68 (0.62, 0.78)0.66 (0.61, 0.76)0.66 (0.61, 0.73)
Ct.vBMD (mg/cm3)946.1 (886.1, 954.3)912.6 (862.1, 941.1)**924.3 (869.6, 950.6)913.1 (855.2, 933.3)**\
Ct.Th (mm)1.55 (1.44, 1.69)1.54 (1.40, 1.67)1.60 (1.48, 1.67)1.61 (1.54, 1.64)
Ct.Po (%)2.32 (1.78, 2.93)2.61 (1.88, 2.98)2.67 (1.86, 3.66)2.87 (2.20, 3.45)
Radius
F.Load (n)4067.3 (3692.4, 4796.0)4174.2 (3601.9, 4794.4)4082.5 (3622.2, 4746.9)4208.1 (3595.6, 4692.2)
Tt.vBMD (mg/cm3)327.0 (305.6, 362.3)327.1 (303.4, 363.7)334.1 (312.3, 360.5)331.3 (315.6, 361.6)
Tb.vBMD (mg/cm3)183.2 (161.3, 191.1)184.4 (161.9, 189.3)177.7 (156.9, 192.5)181.7 (175.2, 202.6)
Tb.BV/TV (%)26.28 (23.14, 27.48)26.24 (23.05, 27.54)26.19 (22.34, 27.59)26.55 (25.45, 29.26)
Tb.Th (mm)0.237 (0.232, 0.249)0.238 (0.231, 0.249)0.242 (0.228, 0.250)0.241 (0.224, 0.248)*
Tb.N (1/mm)1.51 (1.41, 1.59)1.52 (1.40, 1.61)1.49 (1.39, 1.56)1.46 (1.34, 1.59)
Tb.Sp (mm)0.60 (0.57, 0.67)0.60 (0.57, 0.66)0.66 (0.61, 0.76)0.62 (0.58, 0.68)
Ct.vBMD (mg/cm3)915.0 (887.6, 958.1)910.7 (891.5, 955.4)911.2 (893.9, 950.5)919.0 (893.7, 955.9)
Ct.Th (mm)1.12 (0.97, 1.18)1.13 (0.96, 1.17)1.13 (1.00, 1.18)1.14 (0.99, 1.18)
Ct.Po (%)0.62 (0.48, 0.82)0.61 (0.47, 0.87)0.71 (0.39, 0.89)0.76 (0.59, 0.86)
  • Data are median (IQR). n=16 for dominant tibia, and both radii; n=17 for non-dominant tibia.

  • *p Value <0.05; **p<0.01 for difference post-flight versus pre-flight based on Wilcoxon signed rank test. Pairwise percent change data presented in text.

  • Ct.Po, cortical porosity; Ct.Th, cortical thickness; Ct.vBMD, cortical vBMD; F.Load, failure load; HR-pQCT, high-resolution peripheral quantitative CT; Tb.BV/TV, trabecular bone volume fraction; Tb.N, trabecular number; Tb.Sp, trabecular separation; Tb.Th, trabecular thickness; Tb.vBMD, trabecular vBMD; Tt.vBMD, total volumetric bone mineral density.