The loss of 2 or more inches in height during adulthood serves as a powerful predictor of
osteoporosis in the hip, and thus the risk for hip fractures, in elderly women, according to a new study at
The Ohio State University Medical Center. The finding has led researchers to recommend that primary care physicians routinely screen aging patients for height loss.
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Seth Kantor |
“May is National Osteoporosis Month, and in 2004, an osteoporotic or fragility fracture of the hip should be preventable,” said Dr. <<>>, a rheumatologist at OSU Medical Center and lead author of the study, published in a recent issue of the osteoporosis. “Our findings suggest that a very simple test for all patients – current height compared to peak adult height – can predict the need for a bone mineral density scan to check for osteoporosis.”
New medications that help build and stabilize bone make effective treatment for osteoporosis possible, he noted. In patients with osteoporosis, the natural cycle of losing and adding minerals in healthy bone falls out of balance and the loss outpaces the gain, leading to low bone mass, structural deterioration of bone tissue, fragility and an increased susceptibility to fractures of the hip, spine and wrist. An estimated 30 million American women either have or are at risk for osteoporosis, which is responsible for about 300,000 hip fractures annually. Men account for 25 percent of the hip fractures nationally.