Chronic effects of stroke on hip bone density and tibial morphology: a longitudinal study

Summary The study aimed to quantify the long-term effects of stroke on tibial bone morphology and hip bone density. Only the trabecular bone mineral density and bone strength index in the hemiparetic tibial distal epiphysis showed a significant decline among individuals who had sustained a stroke 12–24 months ago. Introduction This study aims to determine the changes in bone density and morphology in lower limb long bones during a 1-year follow-up period and their relationship to muscle function in chronic stroke patients. Methods Twenty-eight chronic stroke patients (12–166 months after the acute stroke event at initial assessment) and 27 controls underwent bilateral scanning of the hip and tibia using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and peripheral quantitative computed tomography, respectively. Each subject was re-assessed 1 year after the initial assessment. Results Twenty stroke cases and 23 controls completed all assessments. At the end of the follow-up, the paretic tibial distal epiphysis suffered significant decline in trabecular bone density (−1.8 ± 0.6 %, p = 0.006) and bone strength index (−2.7 ± 0.6 %, p