Circulating levels of vitamins K1 and K2 decreased in elderly women with hip fracture.
We measured the serum levels of phylloquinone (vitamin K1) and of the menaquinones, MK-7 and MK-8, in a group of 51 women with a mean age of 81 years who were studied within a few hours after a hip fracture. A group of 38 healthy age-matched women randomly chosen from the same population served as controls. Patients with hip fracture had a marked reduction in serum vitamin K1 (336 +/- 302 versus 585 +/- 490 pg/ml, p < 0.01), MK-7 (120 +/- 84 versus 226 +/- 178 pg/ml, p < 0.001), and MK-8 (89 +/- 113 versus 161 +/- 145 pg/ml, p < 0.01), and a large number had undetectable levels, especially of MK-8. Vitamin K levels were not correlated with the time elapsed after fracture or with serum cortisol or other biochemical variables. These data suggest that patients with hip fracture have vitamin K deficiency, an abnormality that could affect bone metabolism through an impairment of the gamma carboxylation of the gla-containing proteins of bone.
Hodges
S J
SJ
INSERM Unit 234, Höpital Edouard Herriot, Lyon, France.
Akesson
K
K
Vergnaud
P
P
Obrant
K
K
Delmas
P D
PD
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D005260:Female; D006620:Hip Fractures / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014812:Vitamin K / Q000097:blood*; D010837:Vitamin K 1 / Q000097:blood*
D014812:Vitamin K; D010837:Vitamin K 1; D006854:Hydrocortisone