This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on ISI (29)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Aging/ Geriatrics  • Men's Health  • Alert me on articles by topic  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Jean Ann Langlois, ScD, MPH; Marjolein Visser, PhD; Lara S. Davidovic, MPH; Stefania Maggi, MD, MPH; Guohua Li, MD, DrPH; Tamara B. Harris, MD, MS

Arch Intern Med. 1998;158:990-996.

Background  Change in body weight is a potentially modifiable risk factor for hip fracture in older women but, to our knowledge, its relationship to risk in older men has not been reported previously.

Objective  To investigate the effects of weight loss and weight gain from age 50 years to old age on the risk of hip fracture among elderly men.

Methods  The association between weight change and risk of hip fracture was studied in a cohort of 2413 community-dwelling white men aged 67 years or older from 3 sites of the Established Populations for Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly.

Results  The older men in this study, observed for a total of 13620 person-years during the 8 years of follow-up, experienced 72 hip fractures, yielding an overall incidence rate of 5.3 per 1000 person-years. Extreme weight loss (10%) beginning at age 50 years was associated in a proportional hazards model with increased risk of hip fracture (relative risk, 1.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.04-3.3). Weight loss of 10% or more was associated with several indicators of poor health, including physical disability, low mental status score, and low physical activity (P<.05). Weight gain of 10% or more beginning at age 50 years provided borderline protection against the risk of hip fracture (relative risk, 0.4; 95% confidence interval, 0.1-1.00).

Conclusions  Despite differences between older men and women in the incidence of and risk factors for hip fracture, weight history is also an important determinant of the risk of hip fracture among older men. Weight loss of 10% or more beginning at age 50 years increases the risk of hip fracture in older white men; weight gain of 10% or more decreases the risk of hip fracture. The relationship between extreme weight loss and poor health suggests that weight loss is a marker of frailty that may increase the risk of hip fracture in older men. Physicians should include weight history in their assessment of the risk of hip fracture among older men.

From the Epidemiology, Demography and Biometry Program, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, Md (Drs Langlois, Visser, and Harris); School of Medicine, University of Vermont, Burlington (Ms Davidovic); Istituto di Medicina Interna, University of Padua, Padua, Italy (Dr Maggi); and the Department of Emergency Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md (Dr Li). Dr Langlois is now with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Ga.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati     What's this?

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Weight Change over Three Decades and the Risk of Osteoporosis in Men: The Norwegian Epidemiological Osteoporosis Studies (NOREPOS)
Meyer et al.
Am J Epidemiol 2008;168:454-460.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Influence of moderate energy restriction and seafood consumption on bone turnover in overweight young adults
Lucey et al.
Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2008;87:1045-1052.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Changes in Antagonist Muscles' Coactivation in Response to Strength Training in Older Women
de Boer et al.
Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences 2007;62:1022-1027.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Obesity in older adults: technical review and position statement of the American Society for Nutrition and NAASO, The Obesity Society
Villareal et al.
Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2005;82:923-934.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Voluntary Weight Reduction in Older Men Increases Hip Bone Loss: The Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study
Ensrud et al.
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 2005;90:1998-2004.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Editorial: Something About Frailty
Morley et al.
Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences 2002;57:M698-704.
FULL TEXT  

Physiologic Effects of Lowering Caloric Intake in Nonhuman Primates and Nonobese Humans
Roberts et al.
Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences 2001;56:66-75.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Weight stability masks sarcopenia in elderly men and women
Gallagher et al.
Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab. 2000;279:E366-E375.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Editorial: Exercise Strategies Should Be Designed to Increase Muscle Power
Evans
Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences 2000;55:309M-310.
FULL TEXT