A comparative study of the usefulness of the femoral trabecular-pattern
index (Singh index) and bone mineral content measurement by photon
absorption in senile osteoporosis was performed in 106 white women, seventy
to ninety-five years old. In 17% of the subjects adequate hip
roentgenograms could not be obtained. Interpretation of the Singh index was
not found to be simple and easily reproducible. A positive correlation was
noted between the bone mineral content and the Singh index. The incidence
of previous vertebral and non-vertebral fracture was noted to be inversely
related to both bone mineral content and the Singh index, but neither
method clearly separated subjects with fracture from those without
fracture.