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A new study published in the Journal of Bone
and Joint Surgery shows that women who fracture a wrist
within 10 years of entering menopause are at a significantly higher
risk of developing
osteoporosis compared to post-menopausal
women who have not had any wrist fractures. According to the
researchers, women younger than 66 who sustain a wrist fracture
should receive
bone mineral
density (BMD)
tests to determine whether they should be treated for osteoporosis,
a degenerative bone disease.
Lead researcher Carlos Wigderowitz, PhD and his research team
measured the bone density of 31 women between the ages of 40 and 82
who had experienced a certain type of wrist fracture called a
Colles’ fracture. The results of the tests were compared to those of
289 healthy women between the ages of 20 and 83 with no history of
wrist fractures. Bone mineral density measurements were found to be
significantly lower in the women with fractures than the healthy
women, with the most noticeable difference in women between the ages
of 41 and 66. Researchers noted that the women who experienced wrist
fractures within 10 years of menopause were eight times as likely to
develop osteoporosis. However, this considerably high risk of
osteoporosis decreases again when a woman reaches age 70.
Felicia Cosman, MD, clinical director of the National
Osteoporosis Foundations said that all fractures that occur in
adults are caused, in part, by osteoporosis. Fractures from
osteoporosis are possible in any bone, but are most common in the
wrist, hip, and spine. Osteoporosis affects roughly 25 million
Americans and is currently one of the most under-diagnosed and
under-treated disorders in medicine. It is estimated that one third
of all women over age 50 have osteoporosis. Osteoporosis causes more
than 1.5 million bone fractures each year, including 250,000 wrist
fractures. According to the National Institutes of Health, the
estimated cost for hospital and nursing home care of men and women
with injuries related to osteoporosis is $14 billion.
Based on the conclusions of the study, the researchers
recommend that all post-menopausal women under age 66 who experience
a wrist fracture receive a bone mineral density test to determine
whether they have osteoporosis. The younger a woman is after she
reaches menopause, the greater her bone deficiency, said
Wigderowitz. The researchers have just completed another study on
osteoporosis that confirms the results of this study.
Women who are shown to have low bone mineral densities are
usually placed on hormone replacement
therapy (HRT)
or prescribed raloxifene, alendronate, or calcitonin in addition to a calcium and Vitamin D-rich
diet .
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