November 13, 2009

Hip Fracture Odds Rise With Women's Age

FRIDAY, Nov. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Hip fracture risk is seven times higher in 70-year-old women than in 50-year-old women, according to a study that found that postmenopausal women's risk for hip fracture rises sharply with age.

The analysis of data from the Million Women Study of 1.3 million British women aged 50 and older also found that among women aged 50 to 54, the risk of hip fracture of those who are postmenopausal is twice that of premenopausal women.

Women who had an early menopause before age 45 had a slightly increased risk of hip fracture, but the effect of early menopause was small compared with the effect of aging.

"Our findings show that age is far more important than factors relating to menopause in determining the risk of hip fracture," wrote Emily Banks, of the Australian National University, and colleagues. "Hence, clinical decisions around hip fracture prevention should be based on age, and age-related factors, such as frailty, low body-mass index, sensory impairment and comorbidity, rather than on age at menopause."

The study was published online Nov. 9 in PLoS Medicine.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about hip fractures among older adults.

-- Robert Preidt
SOURCE: Public Library of Science, news release, Nov. 9, 2009
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