Age‐related patterns of trabecular and cortical bone loss differ between sexes and skeletal sites: A population‐based HR‐pQCT study

In this cross‐sectional study, we aimed to predict age‐related changes in bone microarchitecture and strength at the distal radius (DR) and distal tibia (DT) in 644 Canadian adults (n = 442 women and 202 men) aged 20 to 99 years. We performed a standard morphologic analysis of the DR and DT with high‐resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) and used finite‐element analysis (FEA) to estimate bone strength (failure load) and the load distribution. We also calculated a DR load‐to‐strength ratio as an estimate of forearm fracture risk. Total bone area, which was 33% larger in young men at both sites, changed similarly with age in women and men at the DT but increased 17% more in men than in women at the DR (p