The present study included 130 elderly women living in Khon Kaen, Thailand, and all but one underwent both DEXA-BMD and AP radiographs of the left hip joint. The mean (SD) of age, weight, height and BMI of the 129 participants was 72.5 (5.3) years, 49.8 (10.3) kg, 1.49 (0.06) m, and 22.21 (4.13) kg/m2, respectively. The authors found both poor sensitivity and a positive predictive value for a Singh grade of < 4 or < 3 (viz. 58 and 29 or 19 and 43 percent, respectively). The ROC curve showed the poor diagnostic value of the Singh index since the area under the curve was ~40% †the Singh index is therefore a poor screening tool for femoral neck osteoporosis.

Keywords: Singh index; Diagnostic test; Screening tool; Osteoporosis; Bone Mineral Density