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The population burden of fractures originates in women with osteopenia, not osteoporosis

journal contribution
posted on 2006-09-01, 00:00 authored by Julie PascoJulie Pasco, E Seeman, Margaret Rogers, E Merriman, G Nicholson, Mark KotowiczMark Kotowicz
Introduction : Osteoporosis is associated with increased risk for fracture. However, most postmenopausal women have bone mineral density (BMD) within the normal or osteopenic range. The aim of this study was to determine the proportion of the population burden of fragility fractures arising from women at modest risk for fracture.

Methods : We measured baseline BMD in a population-based random sample of 616 postmenopausal women aged 60–94 years and followed these individuals for a median of 5.6 years (IQR 3.9–6.5) to determine the incidence of fractures according to age, BMD and the presence of a prior fracture.

Results : Based on WHO criteria, 37.6% of the women had normal total hip BMD, 48.0% had osteopenia and 14.5% had osteoporosis. The incidence of fracture during follow-up was highest in women with osteoporosis, but only 26.9% of all fractures arose from this group; 73.1% occurred in women without osteoporosis (56.5% in women with osteopenia, 16.6% in women with normal BMD). Decreasing BMD, increasing age and prior fracture contributed independently to increased fracture risk; in a multivariate model, the relative risk for fracture increased 65% for each SD decrease in BMD (RR=1.65, 95%CI 1.32–2.05), increased 3% for every year of age (RR=1.03, 95%CI 1.01–1.06) and doubled with prevalent fracture (RR=2.01, 95% CI 1.40–2.88). A prevalent fracture increased the risk for fractures such that women with osteopenia and prevalent fracture had the same, if not greater, risk as women with osteoporosis alone.

History

Journal

Osteoporosis International

Volume

17

Issue

9

Pagination

1404 - 1409

Publisher

Springer U. K.

Location

Surrey, England

ISSN

0937-941X

eISSN

1433-2965

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2006, International Osteoporosis Foundation and National Osteoporosis Foundation