Abstract
PurposeFractures are associated with cardiovascular diseases in the elderly. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the association between aortic calcification (AC) and the risk of vertebral fractures in postmenopausal Chinese women.MethodsA prospective study with 5 years of follow-up in 1724 postmenopausal women (aged 50 years old and older) was conducted from July 2005 to June 2010. Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry was utilized to evaluate bone mineral density (BMD). Aortic calcification score (ACS) was determined by a semi-quantitative method and was further categorized into four groups. Cox proportional hazards models were established to assess the association between AC and the risk of vertebral fractures.ResultsFor subjects with AC, the incidence of vertebral fractures was higher than that of those without AC (p<0.01). After adjustment for age and other potential confounders, it was found that severe AC (G4, ACS>6; G3, ACS = 3–6) was associated with vertebral fractures. Severe AC (G4) was associated with non-vertebral fractures. There were higher risk for the vertebral fractures in two groups and higher risk for non-vertebral fractures in one group.ConclusionsThe results of the current study indicate that severe AC is associated with a significantly increased risk of vertebral fractures and non-vertebral fractures in postmenopausal women in China.
Highlights
Both fractures and cardiovascular diseases are important causes of morbidity and mortality in the elderly [1,2,3]
It was found that the subjects with aortic calcification (AC) had significantly lower bone mineral density (BMD) in both the vertebrae and hips and adiponectin levels than those without AC (p,0.01)
The results revealed that adiponectin was an independent risk factor associated with vertebral fractures in postmenopausal women
Summary
Both fractures and cardiovascular diseases are important causes of morbidity and mortality in the elderly [1,2,3]. Postmenopausal women with cardiovascular diseases are at an increasing risk for fractures, independently of their age and cardiovascular risk profile. This fact suggests a possible association between cardiovascular diseases and fractures [4,5]. This observation has been reported in studies involving subjects in both Asian and Western nations [6,7,8]. With regard to postmenopausal women, Svejme et al, in a 34year prospective study, showed an association between cardiovascular disease and fractures [9]. The association between vascular calcification and fractures has been found to be significant after adjustments for age and other potential confounders [10,11]
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