Vitamin D and Hip Fracture

Hip fractures are recognized as a major public health problem worldwide. Demographic changes will lead to enormous increases in the number of hip fractures and projections indicate that the number of hip fractures occurring worldwide each year will rise from 1.26 million in 1990 to 4.5 million by 2050. However, preventive strategies are available. Supplementation with Ca²⁺ and vitamin D restores bone quality through suppression of secondary hyperparathyroidism and decreases the risk of falling through improvement of neuromuscular coordination and body sway. This leads to a reduction of hip fracture risk of 43% in the vitamin D-insufficient elderly. Treatment with the bisphosphonate alendronate increases bone strength and results in a 51% reduction of hip fracture risk. Hip protectors absorb energy during a fall and reduce hip fracture risk by 56%. Combining these three procedures could prevent a large proportion of hip fractures in the future.     

成都市区髋部骨折发病率及其分布特点的研究

为了解成都市髋部骨折发病率,并研究其发病特点及规律,作者采用专访和与信访相结合的方法对成都市东、西城区33所医院确诊的髋部骨折445例资料构成分布情况进行了分析研究。成都市东、西城区1989年髋部骨折发病率至少为30.38/10万,男性发病率较高(30.54/10万),女性较低(30.22/10万)。骨折发病率随增龄而上升,尤其在45岁以上的中老年人,其发病率高达130.53/10万,骨折患者平均年龄为63岁。跌伤为主要伤因,自行车损伤也不可忽视。骨折发生月份在统计学上无显著差异,骨折部位以左股骨颈居多,男性股骨颈骨折与股骨转子部骨折之比值为1.36,女性为2.79,男、女骨折部位有显著差异。     

Regional Variation in Hip Fracture Incidence Among Japanese Hemodialysis Patients

Hip fracture incidence in Japanese hemodialysis patients is five‐fold higher than in the general population, although the mechanisms underlying this difference are not fully understood. Substantial regional variation exists in hip fracture incidence in the general Japanese population, despite a uniform health care and insurance system and lack of ethnic and racial variation. In this study, we determined whether the regional variation seen in the general population also applies to hemodialysis patients in Japan. Standardized incidence ratios were calculated for each regional district, and regional variations of hip fracture incidence among hemodialysis patients were evaluated using data obtained from the Japanese Society for Dialysis Therapy registry (data collected from December 2007 to December 2008). Standardized hip fracture incidence ratios across the districts ranged from 0.71 to 1.29 for male and 0.49 to 1.36 for female hemodialysis patients. Incidence ratios tended to be higher in western Japan and lower in eastern Japan, suggesting that regional variation also exists among hemodialysis patients. Our findings suggest that common risk factors for hip fracture may be shared among the general population and hemodialysis patients. Further research aimed at identifying factors, including those associated with regional variation, may help decrease hip fracture incidence in both the general population and hemodialysis patients in Japan.     

丹参针预防髋部骨折术后静脉栓塞的疗效观察

目的 通过随机对照研究,观察丹参针在预防髋部骨折术后静脉栓塞治疗时的效果.方法 对我院2007年6月-2010年5月行髋部骨折手术的146例患者进行随访观察,其中男62例,女84例,年龄在19～89岁之间,平均72岁,治疗组术后第2天给予足量足疗程的丹参针,对照组术后第2天开始给予同等量的0.9%氯化钠溶液,两组对照,详细纪录患者的临床资料,术后行患肢深静脉顺行性造影,明确血栓发生部位、大小及数量,综合分析.结果 (1)对照组62例,术后深静脉血栓的发生率为33.9%(21/62例),其中中央型4例,周围型17例;(2)治疗组84例,其中男26例,女58例,术后给予丹参针1.2g/d,2周后造影查深静脉血栓的发生率为16.7%(14/84例),其中中央型3例,周围型11例.两组比较有显著性差异(P＜0.01).结论 下肢深静脉造影技术能准确发现深静脉血栓,临床症状与其无直接关联,观察治疗组和对照组造影示静脉栓子的情况,丹参能够明显降低静脉栓塞的发生率.     

Racial and Socioeconomic Disparities in Bone Density Testing Before and After Hip Fracture

BACKGROUND Racial and socioeconomic disparities have been identified in osteoporosis screening. OBJECTIVE To determine whether racial and socioeconomic disparities in osteoporosis screening diminish after hip fracture. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study of female Medicare patients. SETTING Entire states of Illinois, New York, and Florida. PARTICIPANTS Female Medicare recipients aged 65–89 years old with hip fractures between January 2001 and June 2003. MEASUREMENTS Differences in bone density testing by race/ethnicity and zip-code level socioeconomic characteristics during the 2-year period preceding and the 6-month period following a hip fracture. RESULTS Among all 35,681 women with hip fractures, 20.7% underwent bone mineral density testing in the 2 years prior to fracture and another 6.2% underwent testing in the 6 months after fracture. In a logistic regression model adjusted for age, state, and comorbidity, women of black race were about half as likely (RR 0.52 [0.43, 0.62]) and Hispanic women about 2/3 as likely (RR 0.66 [0.54, 0.80]) as white women to undergo testing before their fracture. They remained less likely (RR 0.66 [0.50, 0.88] and 0.58 [0.39, 0.87], respectively) to undergo testing after fracture. In contrast, women residing in zip codes in the lowest tertile of income and education were less likely than those in higher-income and educational tertiles to undergo testing before fracture, but were no less likely to undergo testing in the 6 months after fracture. CONCLUSIONS Racial, but not socioeconomic, differences in osteoporosis evaluation continued to occur even after Medicare patients had demonstrated their propensity to fracture. Future interventions may need to target racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities differently.     

Reduced Handgrip Strength as a Marker of Frailty Predicts Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Heart Failure Undergoing Ventricular Assist Device Placement

BackgroundHeart failure (HF) is associated with the derangement of muscle structure and metabolism, contributing to exercise intolerance, frailty, and mortality. Reduced handgrip strength is associated with increased patient frailty and higher morbidity and mortality. We evaluated handgrip strength as a marker of muscle function and frailty for prediction of clinical outcomes after ventricular assist device (VAD) implantation in patients with advanced HF.Methods and ResultsHandgrip strength was measured in 72 patients with advanced HF before VAD implantation (2.3 ± 4.9 days pre-VAD). We analyzed dynamics in handgrip strength, laboratory values, postoperative complications, and mortality. Handgrip strength correlated with serum albumin levels (r = 0.334, P = .004). Compared with baseline, handgrip strength increased post-VAD implantation by 18.2 ± 5.6% at 3 months (n = 29) and 45.5 ± 23.9% at 6 months (n = 27). Patients with a handgrip strength <25% of body weight had an increased risk of mortality, increased postoperative complications, and lower survival after VAD implantation.ConclusionPatients with advanced HF show impaired handgrip strength indicating a global myopathy. Handgrip strength <25% of body weight is associated with higher postoperative complication rates and increased mortality after VAD implantation. Thus, the addition of measures of skeletal muscle function underlying the frailty phenotype to traditional risk markers might have incremental prognostic value in patients undergoing evaluation for VAD placement.