Hip axis length changes in 10,554 males and females and the association with femoral neck fracture.
Hip axis length (HAL) has been proposed as an independent predictor of hip fracture risk in Caucasian females. There are, however, few data concerning its predictive risk in Chinese. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes of HAL in healthy Chinese population and the relationship between HAL and femoral neck fracture. The study population included 10,554 healthy Chinese people (8665 females, 1889 males) aged 20-97 yrs living in Shanghai. Cases were 106 patients (82 females, 24 males) aged 52 yrs old and over with femoral neck fracture. Controls were 106 age-matched healthy persons. All subjects were measured bone mineral density (BMD) at any site of proximal femur and HAL using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. HAL had significantly positive correlations with height and weight. After the adjustment of height and weight, HAL increased with age at 50 yrs of age and over in females, and no difference was found among the age groups in males. Males had longer HAL than females in all age groups. The peak BMD appeared in 30-44 yrs for females and 20-24 yrs for males and decreased thereafter, especially for females at 50 yrs old and over. HAL was similar in both fracture and control groups, whereas the BMD values at proximal femur were significantly lower in fracture group than in controls. There was no evidence that subjects with femoral neck fracture had longer HAL. Because of the limitations of retrospective study and relatively small fracture sample, prospective studies are required to determine the conclusions.
Department of Osteoporosis, the Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China.
Gao
G
Gao
Zhen-Lin
ZL
Zhang
Hao
H
Zhang
Wei-Wei
WW
Hu
Qi-Ren
QR
Huang
Jing-Hui
JH
Lu
Yun-Qiu
YQ
Hu
Miao
M
Li
Yu-Juan
YJ
Liu
Jin-Wei
JW
He
Jie-Mei
JM
Gu
Jin-Bo
JB
Yu
D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015519:Bone Density; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005265:Femoral Neck Fractures / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006615:Hip / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006620:Hip Fractures / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012307:Risk Factors