Height
loss increases risk for fractures and death
in older women
January 10, 2012 (PORTLAND, Ore.) — Older
women who have lost more than two inches in
height face an increased risk of breaking
bones and dying, according to a new study
published in the January issue of the Journal
of Bone and Mineral Researchand funded
by the National Institutes of Health.
The study found that women 65 and older who
lost more than two inches over 15 years were
50 percent more likely to both fracture a
bone and to die in the subsequent five
years, compared to women who lost less than
two inches in height.
"Most women do lose height as they age, but
we found that those who lost more than two
inches were at higher risk of breaking a
bone and of dying," said lead author Teresa
Hillier, MD, MS, an endocrinologist and
senior investigator at the Kaiser Permanente
Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore.
"These women were at higher risk of dying
from a fracture, but they were also at
higher risk of dying from more common
causes, including heart disease."
Height loss may be an indicator of
osteoporosis, a weakening of the bone that
can lead to fractures of the spine, hip,
wrist and other bones.
Hip fractures are the most debilitating.
Nearly 300,000 people are admitted to the
hospital each year with a hip fracture,
according to the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention. As many as 20 percent of
them will die within a year after the
fracture and many others will become
disabled, previous research has shown.
"We need to do everything we can to prevent
these fractures and our study suggests that
clinicians don't need to wait until they
have two height measurements before they can
be proactive," Hillier said. "Most older
women remember how tall they were in their
mid 20s, and if they measure two inches
shorter than that, clinicians should
consider bone density testing, counseling,
and possible treatment to help prevent
fractures."
Prior studies have reported that significant
height loss puts men at higher risk for
heart disease and death, but this is the
first study to find an association between
height loss and death in women. Another
study to be published in the same issue of
theJournal of Bone and Mineral Research found
that men over 70 who lost two inches or more
were at greater risk for fracturing a hip,
compared with men who lost less height.
The main analysis for the new Kaiser
Permanente study involved 3,124 women who
were 65 and older during the mid-1980s, when
they were recruited for the landmark Study
of Osteoporotic Fractures. The study has
been going on for more than two decades and
includes women from Baltimore, Minneapolis,
Portland, Ore., and the Monongahela Valley
near Pittsburgh.
Height loss was determined by comparing
height measurements taken during an initial
clinic visit with measurements taken during
a clinic visit 15 years later. A stadiometer
was used to measure height. Spine fractures
were detected through X-rays, and bone
density was measured using a standard bone
scan.
In addition to the clinic visits, women
filled out health questionnaires every four
months and were asked if they'd broken a hip
or other bone. Those who didn't fill out the
mailed questionnaires were contacted by
phone. Public death records were used to
confirm mortality.
In addition to the main analysis,
researchers also conducted a sensitivity
analysis among all 9,704 women in the SOF
study and looked at the significance of
height loss that had occurred before the
women entered the study at age 65 or older.
At the beginning of the study, women were
asked to recall how tall they were at age
25, and that height was compared to their
actual height. Researchers found that women
who reported losing more than two inches in
the previous 40 years were also at higher
risk for fractures and death.
