Predicting soft tissue thicknesses overlying the iliac crests and greater trochanters of younger and older adults

Soft tissues overlying the hip play a critical role in protecting against fractures during fall-related hip impacts. Consequently, the development of an efficient and cost-effective method for estimating hip soft tissue thicknesses in living people may prove to be valuable for assessing an individual’s injury risk and need to adopt preventative measures. The present study used multiple linear stepwise regression to generate prediction equations from participant characteristics (i.e., height, sex) and anthropometric measurements of the pelvis, trunk, and thigh to estimate soft tissue thickness at the iliac crests (IC) and greater trochanters (GT) in younger (16–35 years of age: 37 males, 37 females) and older (36–65 years of age: 38 males, 38 females) adults. Equations were validated against soft tissue thicknesses measured from full body Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry scans of independent samples (younger: 13 males, 13 females; older: 13 males, 12 females). Younger adult prediction equations exhibited adjusted R(2) values ranging from 0.704 to 0.791, with more explained variance for soft tissue thicknesses at the GT than the IC; corresponding values for the older adult equations were higher overall and ranged from 0.819 to 0.852. Predicted and actual soft tissue thicknesses were significantly correlated for both the younger (R(2) = 0.466 to 0.738) and older (R(2) = 0.842 to 0.848) adults, averaging ≤ 0.75cm of error. This research demonstrates that soft tissue thicknesses overlying the GT and IC can be accurately predicted from equations using anthropometric measurements. These equations can be used by clinicians to identify individuals at higher risk of hip fractures who may benefit from the use of preventative measures.