Are distal radius fractures due to fragility or to falls?: A consecutive case-control study of bone mineral density, tendency to fall, risk factors for osteoporosis, and health-related quality of life

Abstract

Background A fracture of the distal radius is considered to indicate an increased risk of future fractures, especially a hip fracture. The main causes may be osteoporosis or a tendency to fall, separately or in combination.

Methods 93 women and 5 men with a recent radius fracture and the same number of controls were measured with a heel-DXL and asked to complete one questionnaire on their quality of life (SF-36), and one on risk factors.

Results The mean T-score of the patients was –2.1, and for the controls it was –1.9 (p = 0.3). The patients aged over 64 years had a history of falling more often than the corresponding controls (p = 0.01), but there was no difference in T-score. By contrast, patients 45-64 years of age showed a non-significant, lower T-score (p = 0.09), but there was no difference concerning their history of falling. For all other risk factors, no differences were found between the patients and the controls. There were significant differences between the patients and the controls in some of the functions in the SF-36, due to the radius fracture.

Interpretation This study indicates that the underlying cause of a distal radius fracture may be different in patients aged 45–64 years and those who are more than 64 years old.

Contributions of authors

HN: collected data, performed the data analysis, and wrote the manuscript. GGP: was mainly involved in the data collection. JL: designed the study, took part in the data analysis, and revised the manuscript.