Bone mass--a marker of biologic age?

One thousand one hundred ninety-two subjects who had the bone mineral content (BMC) of their forearm measured during the period spanning 1970-1976 were followed to 1985. At that time, 489 had died. Those who died had a lower BMC of the forearm at the time of the measurement than did the survivors. However, the difference was significant only in men aged 50-69 years. In men, deviation below normal BMC was an indicator of a shorter than average life expectancy, whereas above average values were not important in this respect.