Examination of bone mineral density in patients with varied liver diseases - a cross-sectional study

Table 4 Correlation between bone mineral density parameters and liver function scores

Variable pair	Spearman’s ρ	Interpretation
Lumbar spine T-score vs MELD	-0.01	No correlation
Lumbar spine T-score vs Child-Pugh	+0.12	Weak positive, not significant
Lumbar spine BMD vs MELD	-0.06	No correlation
Lumbar spine BMD vs Child-Pugh	+0.09	Weak positive, not significant
Right femoral neck T-score vs MELD	+0.04	No correlation
Right femoral neck T-score vs Child-Pugh	+0.09	Weak positive
Right femoral neck BMD vs MELD	+0.01	No correlation
Right femoral neck BMD vs Child-Pugh	+0.01	No correlation
Left femoral neck T-score vs MELD	-0.02	No correlation
Left femoral neck T-score vs Child-Pugh	+0.06	Weak positive
Left femoral neck BMD vs MELD	-0.01	No correlation
Left femoral neck BMD vs Child-Pugh	+0.02	No correlation
Lumbar spine T-score vs MELD	-0.01	No correlation
Lumbar spine T-score vs Child-Pugh	+0.12	Weak positive, not significant
Lumbar spine BMD vs MELD	-0.06	No correlation
Lumbar spine BMD vs Child-Pugh	+0.09	Weak positive, not significant
Right femoral neck T-score vs MELD	+0.04	No correlation
Right femoral neck T-score vs Child-Pugh	+0.09	Weak positive
Right femoral neck BMD vs MELD	+0.01	No correlation
Right femoral neck BMD vs Child-Pugh	+0.01	No correlation
Left femoral neck T-score vs MELD	-0.02	No correlation
Left femoral neck T-score vs Child-Pugh	+0.06	Weak positive
Left femoral neck BMD vs MELD	-0.01	No correlation
Left femoral neck BMD vs Child-Pugh	+0.02	No correlation

Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients (ρ) were calculated to assess the association between bone parameters (bone mineral density and T-scores at the lumbar spine and femoral neck) and liver function indices. No significant correlations were found between bone density measures and either Model of End-Stage Liver Disease or Child-Pugh scores. Weak, non-significant positive trends were observed between T-scores and Child-Pugh classification, indicating a potential but clinically minor association between better hepatic function and higher bone density. MELD: Model of End-Stage Liver Disease; BMD: Bone mineral density.