Vertebral fracture evaluation
Lateral chest and lumbar radiographs were used for the diagnosis of vertebral fractures. A semiquantitative method defined by Genant et al.was used [26]. Vertebral fractures were graded as normal (grade 0), grade 1 (mild, approximately 20-25% reduction in anterior, middle, and/or posterior height and a reduction of area 10-20%), grade 2 (moderate, approximately 25-40% reduction in any height and a reduction of area 20-40%). And grade 3 (severe, approximately 40% reduction in any height and area).
All radiographs were re-read in consensus readings and verified by an expert radiologist (OB). On average, we evaluated 10.8 ± 1.4 vertebrae per patient.