Lower Risk Of Osteoporotic Fracture Research Articles

Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate versus tenofovir alafenamide on risk of osteoporotic fracture in patients with chronic hepatitis B: A nationwide claims study in South Korea.

As tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) requires long-term use, a reduction in bone density should be considered a possibility when treating patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) with aging and systemic diseases. Patients treated with tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) have improved bone mineral density loss compared to patients treated with TDF. Although improvements in bone density caused by TAF have been reported, studies on the actual reduction of fractures are insufficient. To evaluate the impact of TAF on the risk of osteoporotic fractures in comparison with that of TDF. Using the national claims data of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, we conducted a retrospective cohort study of 32,582 patients with CHB who had been initially treated with TDF or TAF between November 2017 and December 2020. The numbers of patients treated with TDF and TAF were 20,877 and 11,705, respectively. The annual fracture rate per 100 patients in each group was calculated, and the Cox proportional hazard ratio (HR) was analysed after applying inverse probability treatment weights (IPTW) for both groups. Among 32,582 patients, the average age was 47.8 ± 11.2 years, 64.5% were men, and the follow-up period was 24.4 ± 11.6 months. The incidence of osteoporotic fractures was 0.78 and 0.49 per 100 person-years in the TDF and TAF groups, respectively. After application of IPTW, the HR was 0.68 (95% confidence interval 0.55-0.85, p = 0.001). TAF-treated patients with CHB had a significantly lower risk of osteoporotic fracture than TDF-treated patients.

Use of Chinese Herbal Medicine Was Related to Lower Risk of Osteoporotic Fracture in Sarcopenia Patients: Evidence from Population-Based Health Claims.

With population aging, sarcopenia and its accompanying risk of osteoporotic fracture hasdrawnincreased attention. Nowadays, while Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is often used as complementary therapy for manymedicalconditions, its effect against likelihood of osteoporotic fracture among sarcopenia subjects was not fully elucidated yet. We therefore conducted a population-level study to compare osteoporotic fracture risk for sarcopenia persons with or without CHM use. Using the patient record from a nationwide insurance database, we recruited persons with newly diagnosed sarcopenia and simultaneously free of osteoporotic fracture between 2000 and 2010. Propensity score matchingwas then applied to randomly select sets of CHM users and non-CHM users. All of them were tracked until end of 2013 to measure the incidence and adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for new new-onset fracture in multivariable Cox proportional hazards model. Compared to non-CHM users, the CHM users indeed had a lower incidence of osteoporotic fracture (121.22 vs 156.61 per 1000 person-years). Use of CHM correlated significantly with a lower fracture likelihood after adjusting for potential covariates, and those receiving CHM treatment for more than two years experienced a remarkably lower risk by 73%. Uses of several herbal formulae were correlated to reduced risk of osteoporotic fracture, such as Caulis Spatholobi, Xuduan, Duzhong, Danshen, Shu-Jing-Huo-Xue-Tang, Du-Huo-Ji-Sheng-Tang, Shao-Yao-Gan-Cao-Tang, and Shen-Tong-Zhu-Yu -Tang. Our study depicted that cumulative CHM exposure was inversely associated with osteoporotic fracture risk in a duration-dependent manner, implying that CHM treatment may be embraced as routine care in preventing incident osteoporotic fracture.

Physical Activity Is Associated with a Lower Risk of Osteoporotic Fractures in Osteoporosis: A Longitudinal Study.

The purpose of our study was to examine the occurrence of osteoporotic fractures (fxs) according to the level of physical activity (PA) among osteoporosis using the Korean National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) customized database. From NHIS data from 2009 to 2017, osteoporosis was selected as requested. PA was classified into ‘high PA’ (n = 58,620), ‘moderate PA’ (n = 58,620), and ‘low PA’ (n = 58,620) and were matched in a 1:1:1 ratio by gender, age, income within the household unit, and region of residence. A stratified Cox proportional hazard model was used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) for each type of fx comparing PA groups. The ‘low PA’ group was the reference group. For vertebral fx, the adjusted HR (95% confidence intervals (CIs)) was 0.27 (0.26–0.28) for the ‘high PA’ group and 0.43 (0.42–0.44) for the ‘moderate PA’ group. For hip fx, the adjusted HR (95% CIs) was 0.37 (0.34–0.40) for the ‘high PA’ group and 0.51 (0.47–0.55) for the ‘moderate PA’ group. For distal radius fx, the adjusted HR (95% CIs) was 0.32 (0.30–0.33) for the ‘high PA’ group and 0.46 (0.45–0.48) for the ‘moderate PA’ group. The results of this study suggest that a higher intensity of PA is associated with a lower risk of osteoporotic fxs, including vertebral fx, hip fx, and distal radius fx.

Risk of Osteoporotic Fractures Among Obese Women Based on Body Mass Index and Waist Circumference: A Nationwide Cohort in South Korea.

We evaluated the association between obesity status by body mass index (BMI) or waist circumference (WC) and osteoporotic fracture risk. We collected data of 143,673 women with a mean age of 58.5 years without history of osteoporotic fracture from the Korean National Health Insurance Service Cohort. Participants were divided into four groups according to obesity by BMI and WC, normal BMI/WC (BMI 18.5–24.9 kg/m2 and WC < 85 cm, reference), obese BMI/normal WC (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 and WC < 85 cm), normal BMI/obese WC (BMI < 25 kg/m2 and WC ≥ 85 cm), and obese BMI/WC (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 and WC < 85cm). Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were performed to obtain hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the subsequent median 6.0 years, which were adjusted for age, socioeconomic status, lifestyle, morbidity index, and osteoporosis medication. Compared with the normal group, normal BMI/obese WC was associated with a higher osteoporotic fracture risk after multivariable adjustment (HRs [95% CI], 1.13 [1.05–1.21]), and obese BMI/normal WC was associated with a lower osteoporotic fracture risk (0.89 [0.84–0.94]). Obese BMI/normal WC was associated with a lower risk for hip fractures (0.75 [0.57–0.99]). Obese BMI/normal WC was associated with decreased risk of osteoporotic fracture, whereas normal BMI/obese WC was associated with increased risk of osteoporotic fracture compared with the normal group among East Asian women in their late 40s or more.

Osteoporotic fractures among foreign-born individuals: a national Swedish study

SummaryIn this national study of osteoporotic fractures in foreign-born individuals, we found a lower risk of osteoporotic fractures in general among foreign-born individuals compared with Swedish-born, especially in immigrants from southern Europe. A higher risk was found among some groups, i.e. men and women from Bosnia and Iraq and men from Lebanon.IntroductionThe aim of this study was to analyse risk of osteoporotic fractures in foreign-born individuals compared with Swedish-born individuals.MethodsThis was a nationwide study of individuals 50 years of age and older (N = 2,775,736). Osteoporotic fractures were defined as at least one registered diagnosis of fractures in the hip, humerus, forearm or vertebrae, in the National Patient Register between January 1, 1998, and December 31, 2012. Cox regression analysis was used to estimate the relative risk (hazard ratios (HR) with 99% confidence intervals (CI)) of incident osteoporotic fractures in foreign-born compared with Swedish-born individuals. The Cox regression models were stratified by sex and adjusted for age, comorbidities and sociodemographic status.ResultsA total of 362,899 osteoporotic fractures were registered (96,847 among men and 266,052 among women), with hip fractures dominating (54.0% among men, 42.6% among women). Fully adjusted HRs (99% CI) were for all immigrant men 0.75 (99% CI, 0.73–0.78) and women 0.83 (99% CI, 0.81–0.84), with significantly lower HRs among most groups but with higher HRs in certain countries. For the specific fractures, higher HRs were found for lower forearm fractures for men from Asia and for vertebral fractures among women from Asia.ConclusionsWe observed a generally lower risk of osteoporotic fractures among first-generation immigrants, with few exceptions.

Osteoporotic Fractures in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation Treated With Conventional Versus Direct Anticoagulants

BackgroundElderly patients in long-term treatment with vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) are at high risk of osteoporotic fractures compared with the background population. It has been speculated that the choice of oral anticoagulant (OAC) may affect the risk of osteoporotic fractures. ObjectivesThe risk of osteoporotic fractures was evaluated among patients with atrial fibrillation treated with VKA or direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs). MethodsPatients were identified using the Danish national registries. Patients were included only if they had no prior use of osteoporosis medication and they had undergone 180 days of OAC treatment. Outcomes were hip fracture, major osteoporotic fracture, any fracture, initiation of osteoporosis medication, and a combined endpoint. ResultsOverall, 37,350 patients were included. The standardized absolute 2-year risk of any fracture was low among DOAC-treated patients (3.1%; 95% CI: 2.9% to 3.3%) and among VKA-treated patients (3.8%; 95% CI: 3.4% to 4.2%). DOAC was associated with a significantly lower relative risk of any fracture (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.74 to 0.97), major osteoporotic fractures (HR: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.72 to 0.99), and initiating osteoporotic medication (HR: 0.82; 95% CI: 0.71 to 0.95). A combined endpoint showed that patients treated with DOAC had a significantly lower relative risk of experiencing any fracture or initiating osteoporosis medication (HR: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.76 to 0.93). ConclusionsIn a nationwide population, the absolute risk of osteoporotic fractures was low among patients with atrial fibrillation on OAC, but DOAC was associated with a significantly lower risk of osteoporotic fractures compared with VKA.

P4757Vitamin k antagonists are associated with higher risk of osteoporotic fractures compared to non-vitamin k antagonist oral anticoagulants among atrial fibrillation patients: a nationwide cohort study

Abstract Background/Introduction Osteoporotic fractures are associated with high mortality and reduced life quality in an elderly population. Several studies report an increased risk of fractures among patients treated with oral anticoagulants (OAC), however, only sparse research has been made to clarify the difference between treatment with vitamin K antagonists (VKA) and non-VKA oral anticoagulants (NOACs) regarding the risk of osteoporotic fractures. Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the risk of osteoporotic fractures among patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) in long-term VKA or NOAC treatment. Methods Patients with AF were identified using Danish national registries and were included when they had undergone 180 days OAC treatment, and only if they had no prior use of osteoporosis medication. The study period was from 1 January 2013 until 30 June 2017, and patients were followed for 2 years, or until death, outcome or emigration. Outcomes were hip fracture, major osteoporotic fracture, any fracture, initiation of osteoporosis medication, and a combined endpoint. G-formula was used to determine standardized absolute risk, and multiple covariate adjusted Cox regressions were used to calculate hazard ratios (HR). Results Overall, 37,350 patients with AF were included; 32.6% received VKA treatment (median age 72 years, 61.8% men) and 67.4% received NOAC treatment (median age 73 years, 55.9% men). The standardized absolute 2-year risk of any fracture was low among NOAC treated patients (3.1%; 95% CI: 2.9% to 3.3%), and among VKA treated patients (3.8%; 95% CI: 3.4% to 4.2%). NOAC was associated with a significantly lower relative risk of any fracture (HR: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.74 to 0.97), of major osteoporotic fractures (HR: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.72 to 0.99), and of initiating osteoporotic medication (HR: 0.82; 95% CI: 0.71 to 0.95). A combined endpoint showed that patients treated with NOAC had a significantly lower risk of suffering from any fracture or initiating osteoporosis medication (HR: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.76 to 0.93). Adjusted relative two-year risks Conclusion In a nationwide population, the absolute risk of osteoporotic fractures was low among AF patients on OAC, but NOAC was associated with a significantly lower risk of osteoporotic fractures compared to VKA. Acknowledgement/Funding Scholarship from The Copenhagen University Hospital Herlev and Gentofte

Association of Vitamin D Receptor Polymorphisms With Activity of Acromegaly, Vitamin D Status and Risk of Osteoporotic Fractures in Acromegaly Patients.

Introduction: The vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene is one of the most widely studied tumorigenesis-related genes. The primary objective of this study was assessment of possible roles of VDR gene polymorphisms in acromegaly, with regard to the activity of the disease and compared them with a control group. Furthermore, we have assessed the associations between these polymorphisms with vitamin D status as well as with TBS (trabecular bone score) and risk for osteoporotic fracture in acromegaly patients.Materials and Methods: We studied 69 patients with acromegaly and 51 healthy controls (CG). Acromegaly patients were divided into three subgroups on the basis of disease activity (AA, active acromegaly; CD, controlled disease; CA, cured acromegaly). In all patients, blood samples were obtained to assess the hormonal and metabolic status as well as genetic analysis. VDR polymorphisms were determined by means of two methods, Polymerase Chain Reactions (PCR) and minisequencing (SNaPshot).Results: Genotype frequencies for VDR ApaI, TaqI, BsmI, and FokI polymorphisms did not deviate significantly from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) in the acromegaly group as well as in the control group. There was no statistically significant difference in distributions of these four VDR genotypes between acromegaly patients and the control group. This study revealed statistically significant negative correlation between risk of major osteoporotic fractures and genotypes tt (TaqI), aa (ApaI) and bb (BsmI) in acromegaly groups. Furthermore, the negative correlations were observed between TBS and risk for major osteoporotic fractures and hip fractures.Conclusions: Our study suggests that tt (TaqI), aa (ApaI) and bb (BsmI) of VDR gene may be associated with better bone quality and microarchitecture (higher TBS), which lead to a lower risk of osteoporotic fractures in acromegaly patients. TBS may be a useful tool for predicting risk of fractures in acromegaly patients.

Association of use of Chinese herbal medicines and the risk of fracture in patients with osteoporosis: a population-based cohort study.

Osteoporosis (OS) is a highly disabling condition that can lead to fragility fracture, thus posing greater burdens of functional limitations for the affected individuals. It is unclear if the use of Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) could reduce the risk of fracture due to OS. This study aimed to investigate the association of CHMs and the subsequent osteoporotic fracture risk among OS patients. This longitudinal cohort study used the Taiwanese National Health Insurance Research Database to identify 250,699 newly diagnosed OS patients aged 20years or older between 1998 and 2010. We recruited 103,325 CHM users following the onset of OS (CHM users) and randomly selected 103,325 subjects without CHM usage as controls (non-CHM users) by propensity score matching according to the demographic characteristics and comorbidities at enrollment. All enrollees were followed until the end of 2012 to record the incidence of osteoporotic fracture. We applied the Cox proportional hazard regression model to compute the hazard ratio (HR) of the risk of osteoporotic fracture. During the 15-year follow-up period, 7208 CHM users and 11,453 non-CHM users sustained osteoporotic fracture, with an incidence rate of 9.26 and 12.96, respectively, per 1000 person-years. We found that CHM users had a significantly reduced risk of osteoporotic fracture compared to non-CHM users (adjusted HR 0.73; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.70-0.75). Those treated with CHMs for longer than 730days had a lower fracture risk by 54%. Some commonly used CHMs, such as Yan hu suo (Rhizoma Corydalis), Huang Qin (Scutellaria Baicale), Jie Geng (Platycodon grandifloras), Xiang Fu (Cyperus rotundus), Hai Piao Xiao (Cuttlebone Sepium), Jia-Wei-Xiao-Yao-San, Ge-Gen-Tang, Shao-Yao-Gan-Cao-Tang, and Du-Huo-Ji-Sheng-Tang, are related to the lower risk of fracture. The use of CHMs was associated with lower risk of osteoporotic fracture for OS patients, suggesting that it could be integrated into conventional therapy to prevent subsequent bone fracture.

Association Between Dabigatran vs Warfarin and Risk of Osteoporotic Fractures Among Patients With Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation

The risk of osteoporotic fracture with dabigatran use in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) is unknown. To investigate the risk of osteoporotic fracture with dabigatran vs warfarin in patients with NVAF. Retrospective cohort study using a population-wide database managed by the Hong Kong Hospital Authority. Patients newly diagnosed with NVAF from 2010 through 2014 and prescribed dabigatran or warfarin were matched by propensity score at a 1:2 ratio with follow-up until July 31, 2016. Dabigatran or warfarin use during the study period. Risk of osteoporotic hip fracture and vertebral fracture was compared between dabigatran and warfarin users using Poisson regression. The corresponding incidence rate ratio (IRR) and absolute risk difference (ARD) with 95% CIs were calculated. Among 51 496 patients newly diagnosed with NVAF, 8152 new users of dabigatran (n = 3268) and warfarin (n = 4884) were matched by propensity score (50% women; mean [SD] age, 74 [11] years). Osteoporotic fracture developed in 104 (1.3%) patients during follow-up (32 dabigatran users [1.0%]; 72 warfarin users [1.5%]). Results of Poisson regression analysis showed that dabigatran use was associated with a significantly lower risk of osteoporotic fracture compared with warfarin (0.7 vs 1.1 per 100 person-years; ARD per 100 person-years, -0.68 [95% CI, -0.38 to -0.86]; IRR, 0.38 [95% CI, 0.22 to 0.66]). The association with lower risk was statistically significant in patients with a history of falls, fractures, or both (dabigatran vs warfarin, 1.6 vs 3.6 per 100 person-years; ARD per 100 person-years, -3.15 [95% CI, -2.40 to -3.45]; IRR, 0.12 [95% CI, 0.04 to 0.33]), but not in those without a history (0.6 vs 0.7 per 100 person-years; ARD per 100 person-years, -0.04 [95% CI, 0.67 to -0.39]; IRR, 0.95 [95% CI, 0.45 to 1.96]) (P value for interaction, <.001). Among adults with NVAF receiving anticoagulation, the use of dabigatran compared with warfarin was associated with a lower risk of osteoporotic fracture. Additional study, perhaps including randomized clinical trials, may be warranted to further understand the relationship between use of dabigatran vs warfarin and risk of fracture.

Number of daily antihypertensive drugs and the risk of osteoporotic fractures in older hypertensive adults: National health insurance service – Senior cohort

BackgroundAntihypertensive medication represents one of the most common prescriptions for senior individuals. Numerous studies have assessed the influence of antihypertensive treatment on the risk for osteoporotic fracture, yet much controversy remains. We analyzed the relationship between the incidence of osteoporotic fracture and the average number of daily antihypertensive drugs (NDAD) included in the prescription of elderly hypertensive patients. MethodsThe study population was derived from the National Health Insurance Service–Senior Cohort (2002–2013), and consisted of elderly patients (≥60 years) diagnosed with hypertension in 2009, who did not have osteoporotic fractures in 2008, and underwent at least one national health check-up between 2009 and 2013, and had complete records after 2010. The outcome measured was the incidence of osteoporotic fractures between 2010 and 2013. The study population was stratified into the three groups (low, moderate, and high), in terms of NDAD. ResultsA total of 137,304 hypertensive patients were included. A multivariate model corrected by age, gender, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, underlying disease, smoking status, and use of medicines showed that the groups with moderate and high NDAD exhibited, respectively, 12% and 16% lower risk of osteoporotic fracture compared to that in the group with low NDAD. In terms of the risk of osteoporotic fracture associated with the number of daily thiazide diuretics (NDTD), the adjusted odds ratios (aOR; 95%CI) were 0.89 (0.84–0.94) and 0.93 (0.84–1.02) in the groups with moderate and high NDTD, respectively compared to low NDTD as reference. As to NDADnotTD, the aOR (95%CI) were 0.90 (95%CI, 0.86–0.94) and 0.89 (95%CI, 0.84–0.95) in the groups with moderate and high NDADnotTD, respectively compared to low NDADnotTD as reference. ConclusionIn elderly hypertensive patients, the incidence of osteoporotic fracture decreased as the NDAD increased. The incidence rate of osteoporotic fracture also decreased with the increase in the number of daily non-thiazide antihypertensive drugs.

The Relationship Between Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Bone Mineral Density in Men: A Cross-sectional Study

ObjectiveTo determine the relationship between estimated cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and femoral neck (FN) bone mineral density (BMD) in men. Patients and MethodsThis cross-sectional study included 2569 men aged 50 to 90 years (mean, 63.5 years) who had at least 1 health examination at a preventive medicine clinic between January 27, 1998, and February 24, 2015. Maximal treadmill tests were conducted using the Balke protocol and were used to estimate CRF. We stratified patients into low, moderate, and high CRF categories. The FN BMD was measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Odds ratios (ORs) for T-scores of −2.5 or less (osteoporosis) and −1.0 or less (low BMD) were calculated for categorical CRF and were adjusted for weight, age, and days per week of resistance activity. ResultsThe sample prevalence of osteoporosis in the FN was 4.1% and of low BMD was 49.4%. There was a significant inverse association between higher CRF category and osteoporosis measured at the FN (moderate vs low: OR=0.34; 95% CI, 0.16-0.74; high vs low: OR=0.19; 95% CI, 0.09-0.42) and low BMD (moderate vs low: OR=0.64; 95% CI, 0.43-0.96; high vs low: OR=0.43; 95% CI, 0.29-0.65). ConclusionIn men, CRF is directly associated with BMD. These results suggest that moderate-to-high CRF levels attained through regular physical activity may attenuate age-related decline in BMD. Further studies are needed to determine whether this translates to a lower risk of osteoporotic fracture in more fit men.

Plasma phospholipid fatty acids and fish-oil consumption in relation to osteoporotic fracture risk in older adults: the Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility Study

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) may play a role in fracture, but studies have been largely confined to estimates of dietary intake. We aimed to examine associations between fatty acids measured in late life and fish-oil consumption in early life, midlife, and late life with osteoporotic fracture risk. Osteoporotic fractures were determined from medical records over 5-9 y of follow-up in men and women aged 66-96 y. Data were analyzed from 1438 participants including 898 participants who were randomly selected from the Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility Study, which is an observational study, and 540 participants with incident fracture. Plasma phospholipid fatty acids were assessed by using gas chromatography. Fish-oil consumption was assessed by using validated questionnaires as never (referent), less than daily, or daily. HRs and 95% CIs adjusted for age, education, height, weight, diabetes, physical activity, and medications were estimated by using Cox regression. In men, the highest tertile of PUFAs, n-3 (ω-3), and eicosapentaenoic acid were associated with decreased fracture risk [HRs (95% CIs): 0.60 (95% CI: 0.41, 0.89), 0.66 (0.45, 0.95), and 0.59 (0.41, 0.86), respectively]. In women, PUFAs tended to be inversely associated with fracture risk (P-trend = 0.06), but tertiles 2 and 3 were not independently associated with risk. Tertile 2 of n-6 and arachidonic acid was associated with fracture risk in women [HRs (95% CIs): 1.43 (1.10, 1.85) and 1.42 (1.09, 1.85), respectively]. Daily fish-oil consumption in late life was associated with lower fracture risk in men (HR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.45, 0.91). Daily fish-oil consumption in midlife was associated with lower fracture risk in women (HR: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.58, 0.98). Greater PUFA concentrations may be associated with lower osteoporotic fracture risk in older adults, particularly in men. Critical time periods for n-3 fatty acid consumption may differ by sex.

C-reactive protein, bone loss, fracture, and mortality in elderly women: a longitudinal study in the OPRA cohort.

This longitudinal study investigates the association between C-reactive protein (CRP), osteoporosis, fractures, and mortality in 1044 elderly women. CRP was not an indicator for low bone mineral density (BMD), bone loss, or fracture in elderly women; however, women with elevated CRP levels over a prolonged period lost more bone over the 10-year follow-up, although fracture risk was not increased. Inflammation may contribute to the pathophysiology underlying impaired bone metabolism. This study investigates the association between CRP, BMD, bone loss, fracture risk, and mortality in women aged 75 and above. This longitudinal study is based on 1044 women, all age 75 at inclusion, reassessed at ages 80 and 85, with a mean follow-up time of 11.6 years (maximum 16.9 years). Women in the lowest CRP quartile (mean 0.63 mg/L) had lower BMD compared to those in the highest CRP quartile (mean 5.74 mg/L) at total hip (TH) (0.809 vs. 0.871 g/cm2, p<0.001) and femoral neck (FN) (0.737 vs. 0.778 g/cm2, p=0.007). A single measurement of CRP was not associated with bone loss; however, women with persistently elevated CRP, i.e., ≥3 mg/L at ages 75 and 80 had significantly higher bone loss compared to women with CRP<3 mg/L (TH -0.125 vs. -0.085 g/cm2, p=0.018 and FN -0.127 vs. -0.078 g/cm2, p=0.005) during 10 years of follow-up. Women in the highest CRP quartile had a lower risk of osteoporotic fractures (hazard ratios (HR) 0.76 (95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.52-0.98)) compared to those in the lowest, even after adjusting for weight and BMD. Mortality risk was only increased among women with the highest CRP levels. CRP was not an indicator for low BMD, bone loss, or fracture in elderly women in this study. Persistently elevated CRP however seemed to be detrimental to bone health and may be associated with a higher rate of bone loss. Only the highest CRP levels were associated with mortality.

Statin Use and Fracture Risk

Numerous observational studies show that statin use is associated with lower risk of osteoporotic fractures. However, a causal relationship is not supported by data from randomized trials. Unmeasured confounding is implicated as a likely culprit for the controversy because of failure to measure and adjust for patient-level tendencies to engage in healthy behaviors. However, an alternative explanation is selection bias because of the inclusion of prevalent users of statins in the analysis. The relative importance of either bias has not been investigated in a quantitative sensitivity analysis. We conducted a systematic review to summarize the pattern of association between statin use and fracture risk in observational studies. Our objective was to quantify the magnitude of unmeasured confounding and selection bias in a sensitivity analysis. In 17 published studies, the pooled relative risk for the association between current use of statins and fracture risk was 0.75 (95% confidence interval = 0.66-0.85). Upon adjustment for individual-level use of preventative health services, the pooled relative risk shifted by less than 5% on the log scale. However, a sensitivity analysis for selection bias revealed that moderate levels of bias could eliminate the association between statins and fracture risk. It appears that confounding from unmeasured variables cannot explain the protective association between statins and fractures that has been observed in the literature.

Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism and risk of osteoporotic fracture

Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) is an estrogen degrading enzyme. The COMT Val158Met polymorphism is associated with bone mineral density. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between COMT Val158Met and osteoporotic fractures in Chinese Han patients. Case-control study of 320 patients with osteoporotic fractures and 320 healthy controls were conducted. The COMT Val158Met polymorphism was analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism assay. Patients with osteoporotic fracture had a significantly lower frequency of Val/Val genotype [odds ratio (OR) = 0.62, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.39-0.99, P = 0.04] than controls. When stratified by the fracture type, there was a significantly lower frequency of Val/Val genotype in patients with vertebral fracture (OR = 0.58, 95% CI 0.36-0.94, P = 0.03) than controls. There was no significant difference in the distribution of each genotype between patients with hip fracture and the control group. Our findings suggest that COMT Val/Val genotype was associated with a lower risk of osteoporotic fracture in Chinese population, especially to vertebral fracture.

FLUVASTATIN INCREASES BONE MINERAL DENSITY IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN

Although several studies have reported a lower risk of osteoporotic fracture in hypercholesterolemic patients (WHO IIa) treated with statin, longitudinal studies on the effects of statins on bone are lacking. The aim of the present study was to evaluate bone mineral density (BMD) and bone turnover changes induced by 3-year fluvastatin treatment in postmenopausal women. Twenty-eight consecutive postmenopausal non-diabetic, normotensive hypercholesterolemic women (64.0±3.6 years) were treated for 36 months with 30 mg/day fluvastatin and 28 non-diabetic, normotensive normocholesterolemic age- and body mass index-matched postmenopausal women served as the control subjects. The result revealed a significant increase of the BMD as compared with the level at the base line (p< 0.001) in the fluvastairn-treated group, from 6 months on ward after the start treatment. Significant differences of the BMD were found between the controls and fluvastatin-treated group (p< 0.001) were at 6, 12, 24 and 36 months after the start of the study. In conclusion our results, although obtained small sample of postmenopausal hypercholesterolemic women, suggest a probable favorable effect of fluvastatin on bone formation and BMD.

Association of osteoporotic fracture with smoking, alcohol consumption, tea consumption and exercise among Chinese nonagenarians/centenarians.

To observe the association of osteoporotic fracture with habits of smoking, alcohol consumption, tea consumption and exercise among very old people. A cross-sectional study conducted in Dujiangyan Sichuan China. 703 unrelated Chinese nonagenarians and centenarians (67.76% women, mean age 93.48 years) resident in Dujiangyan. Medical history of osteoporosis and the statement of fracture and habits (current and former) of smoking, alcohol consumption, tea consumption and exercise were collected. In women, subjects with current or former habit of alcohol consumption had significantly higher prevalence osteoporotic fracture than those without this habit; but subjects with former habit of exercise had significantly lower prevalence osteoporotic fracture than those without this habit. However, in men, there was no significant difference in prevalence of these habits between subjects with and without osteoporotic fracture. After adjust for age, gender, sleep habits educational levels, religion habits and temperament, we found that former habit of alcohol consumption had a significant odds ratio (OR=2.473 95% CI (1.074, 5.526)) for osteoporotic fracture. In summary, among nonagenarians and centenarians, among habits (current and former) of smoking, alcohol consumption, tea consumption and exercise, there seems to be significant association of osteoporotic fracture only with current or former habits of alcohol consumption, former habit of exercise. The habit of alcohol consumption might be associated with a greater risk of osteoporotic fracture, but the former habit of exercise might be associated with a lower risk of osteoporotic fracture.

Relationship between body fat mass and bone metabolism

The protective effect of obesity on bone tissue has not been unequivocally demonstrated. On one hand, it is known that obese people have a lower risk of osteoporotic fractures compared with normal-weight individuals. On the other hand, obese patients are characterized by disorders of calcium-phosphate homeostasis and bone metabolism. Moreover, it is not known whether it is fat or lean body mass that determines the development of bone mass. It can be assumed that adipose tissue exerts independent effects on bone remodeling by releasing a number of biologically active substances. Moreover, it seems that the main mechanism of action of these substances is closely related to the type and location of adipose tissue in the body. The present article describes the relationship between fat and bones, including the effect of body weight on bone tissue, the local mechanisms of osteoblast and adipocyte differentiation, and the hormonal activity of adipose tissue.

Nonmelanoma skin cancer is associated with a lower risk of osteoporotic fractures

Nonmelanoma skin cancer is associated with a lower risk of osteoporotic fractures