title: Bone density of the calcaneus and fractures in 75- and 80-year-old men and women.
abstract: Bone mineral density of the calcaneus in relation to fractures was studied both retrospectively and prospectively among the 75- and 80-year-old men and women resident in the city of Jyväskylä, Finland, in 1989 and 1990, respectively. The bone measurements were performed at the calcaneus by 125I-photon absorption. Retrospective fracture (RF) history after age 50 was collected by questionnaire and interview, and reported fractures were checked from medical records. In the retrospective study, in the 75-year-olds a fracture was found in 22% (n = 22) of men and in 45% (n = 84) of women. The corresponding figures for the 80-year-olds were 16% (n = 9) and 35% (n = 48). Over half of the fractures were of the wrist/hand or ankle/leg. Prospective fractures (PF) were recorded over periods of 29-34 months. Twenty of the 75-year-olds and 16 of the 80-year-olds sustained a fracture during the follow-up period. In the 75-year-olds, the results showed that both RF and PF women, together with the RF men, had lower bone area density (BMDa) and volume density (BMDv) than the non-fracture (NF) subjects (p = 0.001-0.011). In the 80-year-olds, significantly lower BMDa was found in the RF women (p = 0.008) and lower BMDv in the PF women (p = 0.024) compared with the NF subjects. During the follow-up period there were no fractures in either of the sex or age groups among those with BMDa and BMDv values greater than 1 SD above the mean. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Suominen
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Era
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Heikkinen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015519:Bone Density; D002111:Calcaneus / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014504:Urban Health