Editorial: Nutrition in bone health and aging

Reis, Joana; Gavaia, Paulo

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/27977

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Authors

Reis, Joana

Gavaia, Paulo

Abstract(s)

Over the past few decades, research in aging-related bone diseases such as osteoporosis and osteoarthritis has made significant strides. Yet, the tangible impact of these scientific advances on the daily lives of both humans and companion animals remains limited. Progress in the area of nutrition have often been hampered and confined within disciplinary borders, resulting in a fragmented body of knowledge. This Research Topic seeks to overcome that fragmentation by adopting a multidisciplinary perspective. Aging bone health is not merely a clinical issue, nor solely a question of molecular biology or nutrient metabolism. It is a complex confluence of factors - genetics, gender, physiological condition, co-morbidities, physical activity, environment, and habitual behaviors - that affect outcomes in a highly individualized manner. The articles in this Research Topic collectively demonstrate the value of integrated research and point to promising paths forward. Several contributions use radiomics and imaging-based predictive models to improve early diagnosis and risk stratification for osteoporosis and related fractures - tools that can be pivotal in low-resource settings such as primary care hospitals. The contribution by Chen et al. introduce a novel screening tool for osteoporosis. By using a model based on clinical and radiomic features, this toll has the potential for democratizing osteoporosis screening in underserved regions. Yu et al. present a new lumbar CT-based radiomics model for predicting osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCF) in postmenopausal women, offering a possible alternative to traditional bone mineral density (BMD) assessments. Notably, this model outperformed DEXA scans in sensitivity and accuracy, even among patients with similar T-scores, highlighting the inadequacy of relying on single metrics in isolation and reinforcing the need for individualized risk assessment.