Bone Mineral Density and Fractures

Angie SzumlinskiNews

We should still be evaluating residents for osteoporosis and bone mineral density as they age. Check out this excerpt from a recently posted article in PubMed to learn why:

“In a large cohort of U.S. women aged 65 and older, [a study] reported the relationships of bone mineral density (BMD) measured at several sites, and subsequent fracture risk at multiple sites over >8 years of follow-up. Although [the study] found almost all fracture types to be related to low BMD, the overall proportion of fractures attributable to low BMD is modest.

Although several studies have reported the relationship between BMD and subsequent fracture risk, most have been limited by short follow-up time, BMD measures at only one or two sites, or availability of data for only select fracture types. [The results of this study] show that almost all types of fractures have an increased incidence in women with low BMD. However, hip BMD is somewhat more strongly related to most of the fracture types studied than spine or peripheral BMD measures. Nonetheless, the proportion of fractures attributable to osteoporosis is modest, ranging from <10% to 44% based on the most commonly used definition of osteoporosis (BMD T-score , -2.5).

Finding effective prevention strategies for fractures in older women will require additional interventions beside preventions for bone loss, such as prevention of falls and other fracture risk factors.”

This information may be helpful in encouraging our team to be more active in the prevention process for falls and falls with significant injury! Read the full article for more information about this study.

Stay well, mask up indoors, and stay tuned!