Effects of nutrition, puberty, and gender on bone ultrasound measurements in adolescents and young adults.

Purpose: Quantitative ultrasound (QUS) evaluation of bone is attractive for evaluating skeletal status in adolescents, but its use is limited in the United States due to sparse pediatric reference data. This study evaluated associations between radial and tibial speed of sound (SOS) measurements via QUS and demographic, anthropometric and nutritional variables.

Methods: We enrolled 151 healthy participants, aged 11-26 years, during routine visits to an urban adolescent clinic.