2025 Volume 16 Issue 5 Pages 746-753
Introduction: The Hounsfield unit (HU) has been reported to correlate with lumbar bone mineral density; however, few studies have reported the cutoff values for diagnosing osteoporosis based on this correlation. Therefore, this study aims to determine the HU cutoff value for diagnosing osteoporosis.
Methods: We included 114 patients who had preoperative lumbar computed tomography (CT) and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) measurements of the lumbar spine and femoral neck within three months before surgery from 2019 to 2024.
Results: The correlation coefficient between the L1-L4 HU values and the lowest young adult mean (YAM) was r = 0.608 (P < 0.001). The regression line from the relationship between the lowest YAM and L1-4 HU was as follows: lowest YAM: L1-4 HU = −4.25+1.57 × lowest YAM. The HU value for YAM (70%) was 105.7.
Conclusions: HU measurement via CT may be a useful alternative diagnostic tool for preoperative evaluation of lumbar degenerative diseases.
