Osteoporosis is a major public health concern, particularly in the elderly population, due to its association with high fracture risk and mortality. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of T12 Hounsfield unit (HU) values from chest CT scans for identifying osteoporosis and to explore their correlation with bone mineral density (BMD) T-scores. A total of 109 patients aged 60 and above who underwent both DXA and chest CT were included. The results showed that T12 HU values significantly correlated with BMD T-scores (r = 0.606, P < 0.001). Three models were evaluated: Model A (T12 HU only), Model B (Age + Gender + BMI), and Model C (T12 HU + Age + Gender + BMI). Model C demonstrated the highest diagnostic performance (AUC = 0.872), outperforming the other models. Using a T12 HU threshold of 155.8, the sensitivity was 80.6%, specificity was 70.3%, and the positive and negative predictive values were 75.9% and 81.3%, respectively. These findings suggest that T12 HU values, derived from routine chest CT, can serve as an effective tool for osteoporosis screening, particularly when combined with demographic factors such as age, gender, and BMI.

Yali Zou. Opportunistic Screening for Osteoporosis Using Routine Chest CT in the Elderly. Academic Journal of Medicine & Health Sciences (2025), Vol. 6, Issue 8: 112-117. https://doi.org/10.25236/AJMHS.2025.060815.

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