Age-related factors in the pathogenesis of senile (Type II) femoral neck fractures.
A variety of age-related factors may affect the two ultimate determinants of hip fracture: propensity to trauma and femoral bone quality. The decline in muscle function that occurs with aging increases the incidence and impact of falls. Vitamin D deficiency, common in the elderly, causes impaired mineralization and a hyper-parathyroidism-related increase in bone turnover, reducing bone quality. Skeletal growth factors, essential regulators of bone-cell replication and differentiation, may mediate the maintenance of normal bone mass; the age-related deficiency of these factors may contribute to senile osteoporosis as well. In elderly women, these age-related factors add to estrogen-deficiency-related bone loss, leading to a lifetime risk of hip fracture of approximately 16%. The relative clinical importance of these potential pathogenetic factors remains to be elucidated.
Boonen
S
S
Department of Internal Medicine, Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven, Belgium.
Broos
P
P
Dequeker
J
J
D000058:Accidental Falls; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D015519:Bone Density / Q000502:physiology*; D016723:Bone Remodeling; D004967:Estrogens / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005265:Femoral Neck Fractures / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology; D013002:Somatomedins / Q000502:physiology; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000150:complications
D004967:Estrogens; D013002:Somatomedins