Risk of Mortality Post-Fragility Fracture Is Sex Dependent

HealthDay News — Men are more likely than women to die after an osteoporosis-related fracture, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, held from March 14-18 in San Diego.

Researchers analyzed data from more than 1.6 million Americans, aged 65 and older, who had osteoporosis and experienced a fracture between 2005 and 2009. Of those patients, 87% were women.

The mortality rate one year after a fracture was 18.7% for men and 13.9% for women (P <.001). Ankle fractures were the only exception, with similar mortality rates for men and women (8.1% for males and 8.4% for females; P =.25). Women were 5 times more likely to experience an initial fracture than men, but had a slightly lower risk for subsequent fractures within 3 years of the first fracture.

“Although females are more likely to sustain an initial fragility fracture compared to males, the rate of a subsequent fragility fracture within 3 years is comparable between genders. Men are at greater risk for mortality after these injuries,” the authors write. “These findings may be used to better counsel patients after an initial fragility fracture and to improve predictive tools for monitoring subsequent injuries.”

Reference

Zetumer SD, Dang DY-D, Sing D, Tay B, Zhang A. Risk for initial and subsequent fragility fractures differ based on patient sex. Abstract presented at: 2017 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons; March 14-18, 2017; San Diego, CA.