title: Frailty and osteoporosis in older women--a prospective study.
abstract: Despite sharing common risk factors and biological pathways, the relationship between frailty and osteoporosis (OP) is not clear. This prospective study has shown that frailty defined by the Vulnerable Elders Survey can predict a decrease in bone mineral density after 1 year. Thus, frail older women should be assessed for osteoporosis.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Frailty and OP share common risk factors such as age, sarcopenia, lack of physical activity, low body weight, and smoking. Despite shared risk factors and biological pathways, the relationship between frailty and OP is not clear. The purpose of our prospective study was to examine this relationship in a community sample of older women.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sample of 235 community-dwelling women was assessed for demographic, medical, frailty and OP status at baseline, and after at least 1 year. Frailty was assessed using the Cardiovascular Health study (CHS) frailty phenotype and using the Vulnerable Elders Survey (VES-13). OP was measured using dual photon absorptiometry bone mineral density (BMD). Descriptive statistics and regression models were used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At baseline, 235 women with a mean age of 77.6 (SD = 5.4), body mass index (BMI) of 28.3 (SD = 5.2) kg/m(2), and BMD of 0.7 (SD = 0.2) g/cm(2)were assessed. No correlation was found between BMD and the CHS (BMD spine, r = 0.009, p = 0.889; BMD hips, r = 0.050, p = 0.473) or the VES-13 (BMD spine, r = 0.034, p = 0.605; BMD hips, r = -0.042, p = 0.537) frailty scales. One hundred fifty-two (63.9 %) women were assessed after 1 year. In a regression model, women who were frail at baseline (VES-13) were found to have a statistically significantly lower hip and spine BMD at follow-up (controlling for BMI) than women who were non-frail at baseline (p = 0.0393, hip; p = 0.0069, spine).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Frailty status as defined by the VES-13 predicts a decrease in BMD after 1 year.
authors.affiliation: Maccabi Healthcare Services, Modiin, Israel, sternb_sh@mac.org.il.
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Sternberg
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Levin
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dkaidek
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Edelman
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Resnick
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Menczel
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015519:Bone Density / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D016330:Frail Elderly / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D015663:Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors