Older men who sustain a hip fracture experience greater declines in bone mineral density at the contralateral hip than non-fractured comparators.

Abstract

The objective was to determine whether bone mineral density (BMD) changes in men after hip fracture exceed that expected with aging. Two cohorts were used: Baltimore Hip Studies 7th cohort (BHS-7) and Baltimore Men's Osteoporosis Study (MOST). BHS-7 recruited older adults (N=339) hospitalized for hip fracture; assessments occurred within 22days of admission and at 2, 6, and 12months follow-up. MOST enrolled age-eligible men (N=694) from population-based listings; data were collected at a baseline visit and a second visit that occurred between 10 and 31months later. The combined sample (n=452) consisted of Caucasian men from BHS-7 (n=89) and MOST (n=363) with ≥2 dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scans and overlapping ranges of age, height, and weight. Mixed-effect models estimated rates of BMD change, and generalized linear models evaluated differences in annual bone loss at the total hip and femoral neck between cohorts. Adjusted changes in total hip and femoral neck BMD were -4.16% (95% CI, -4.87 to -3.46%) and -4.90% (95% CI, -5.88 to -3.92%) in BHS-7 participants; -1.57% (95% CI, -2.19 to -0.96%) and -0.99% (95% CI, -1.88 to -0.10%) in MOST participants; and statistically significant (P<0.001) between-group differences in change were -2.59% (95% CI, -3.26 to -1.91%) and -3.91% (95% CI, -4.83 to -2.98%), respectively. Hip fracture in older men is associated with accelerated BMD declines at the non-fractured hip that are greater than those expected during aging, and pharmacological interventions in this population to prevent secondary fractures may be warranted.