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Study summary · Muscle, strength & physical function

Is calcaneal quantitative ultrasound (QUS) associated with 15-year all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in older women?

In one paragraph

Heel Ultrasound Bone Scanner, studied in 1404 older women (Osteoporos Int 2022, PMID 35147712) — over 15 years, 584 women died, with 223 deaths attributed to CVD. Scope: 1404 older women, over 15 years, and the abstract states no limitations.

Source: Osteoporos Int 2022, PMID 35147712 ↗ · Research map · How Magellan grades evidence · evidence confidence: medium

Osteoporos Int · 2022 · PMID 35147712 · DOI 10.1007/s00198-022-06317-x

Plain-English summary written and published by Magellan Longevity · medical review by Gabriel Radu, DO (physiatrist, NPI 1376861765). We summarize what the paper reported — we did not run this study.

The takeaway

Lower heel bone density, as measured by ultrasound, is linked to a higher risk of death from any cause and cardiovascular disease in older women, even when accounting for other risk factors.

The question

Is calcaneal quantitative ultrasound (QUS) associated with 15-year all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in older women?

What they tested

The study aims to investigate the association between calcaneal QUS measurements and 15-year all-cause and CVD mortality in older women.

How they did it

This prospective study followed 1404 older women (mean age 75.2 years) from the Calcium Intake Fracture Outcome study (CAIFOS) for 15 years. Calcaneal bone was measured at baseline in 1998 using QUS. All-cause and CVD mortality were ascertained using linked data from the Western Australia data linkage system.

What they found

Over 15 years, 584 women died, with 223 deaths attributed to CVD. For every standard deviation reduction in broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA), the relative hazard for all-cause mortality increased by 1.15 (multivariable-adjusted HR) and for CVD mortality by 1.20 (multivariable-adjusted HR), independent of cardiovascular risk factors. These associations remained significant even when hip BMD was included in the model, with all-cause mortality HR 1.19 and CVD mortality HR 1.28.

Increased Relative Hazard for Mortality per SD Reduction in BUA

Values shown: Relative Hazard (HR)

All-cause mortality (adjusted)		1.15
CVD mortality (adjusted)		1.2
All-cause mortality (adjusted + hip BMD)		1.19
CVD mortality (adjusted + hip BMD)		1.28

For every standard deviation reduction in broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA), the relative hazard for all-cause and CVD mortality increased, both with and without adjusting for hip BMD.

What it means

Broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA) is associated with all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality in older women, independently of bone mineral density and established cardiovascular disease risk factors.

Limitations

The abstract does not explicitly state any limitations of the study.

Where the published abstract does not list limitations, we say so rather than inventing them. Read the full paper on PubMed before drawing conclusions.

“calcaneal ultrasound measures were associated with increased cardiovascular and all-cause mortality”— from the published abstract, Osteoporos Int 2022

The paper at a glance

Magellan’s evidence label	Calcaneal quantitative ultrasound (our label for this citation — see PubMed for the paper’s own title and authors)
Journal	Osteoporos Int
Year	2022
PMID	35147712 ↗
DOI	10.1007/s00198-022-06317-x ↗
Topic	Muscle, strength & physical function

Read the source: PubMed record (authors, abstract, full citation) ↗ · Publisher via doi.org ↗

Where Magellan uses this paper

This citation sits behind the evidence grade on the pages below. Grades are set from the research and are independent of affiliate commissions.

Heel Ultrasound Bone Scanner

Predicts all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Research relevant to this mechanism is indexed on PubMed and linked below; it describes the mechanism rather than this specific product.

Molecules & mechanisms in this paper

Each of these is named in the paper’s own words above. Open the monograph for the full mechanism and its other citations.

Bone mineral density

Cite this page

These citations point at this summary. To cite the original paper with its full author list, use the PubMed record or doi.org.

APA

Magellan Longevity. (2026). Is calcaneal quantitative ultrasound (QUS) associated with 15-year all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in older women? [Plain-English summary of Osteoporos Int 2022, PMID 35147712, DOI 10.1007/s00198-022-06317-x]. Magellan Longevity. https://magellanlongevity.com/study/s154.html

BibTeX

@misc{magellan_s154,
  title        = {Is calcaneal quantitative ultrasound (QUS) associated with 15-year all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in older women?},
  author       = {{Magellan Longevity}},
  year         = {2026},
  howpublished = {\url{https://magellanlongevity.com/study/s154.html}},
  note         = {Plain-English summary of PubMed PMID 35147712; DOI 10.1007/s00198-022-06317-x; Osteoporos Int 2022. Reviewed by Gabriel Radu, DO},
  urldate      = {2026-08-11}
}

Permalink

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How this summary was made. Every section above restates what the published abstract of PMID 35147712 reports — the question, the design, the numbers, the authors’ own conclusion and their stated limitations. We do not add claims the paper did not make, and we keep negative and no-effect findings in. Magellan’s evidence grades are set from research like this and never from affiliate commissions.

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Educational information, not medical advice. This is a plain-English summary of published research; it is not a treatment recommendation and nothing here is intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Individual studies can be wrong, and a single paper rarely settles a question. Talk to your physician before acting on any research, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medication.