Osteoporosis & bone health

Type 2 Diabetes and Fracture Risk in Older Women

JAMA Netw OpenPublished Prospective cohort study

Authors' conclusion

In this cohort study of older women, T2D was associated with higher BMD, better bone microarchitecture, and no different BMSi but poorer physical function, suggesting that poor physical function is the main reason for the increased fracture risk in T2D women.

Study context

Population
Older women aged 75 to 80 years, population-based SUPERB cohort, Gothenburg area, 2013–2016
Participants
3,008 women
Exposure
Women with T2D vs women without diabetes
  • T2Dn = 294
  • Without diabetesn = 2,714reference
Outcome
Baseline bone characteristics and physical function, and radiograph-verified incident fractures
Methodological detailspopulation-based, Cox regression adjusted for age, BMI, clinical risk factors and femoral neck (FN) bone mineral density (BMD)
  • Population-based
  • Cox regression adjusted for age, BMI, clinical risk factors and FN BMD

Main finding

As reported in the abstract

Incident fractures (adjusted Cox regression) · median (IQR) follow-up 7.3 (4.4-8.4) years
T2D vs Without diabetesHazard ratio (95% CI)
Any fracture
1.26(1.04–1.54)
MOF
1.25(1.00–1.56)
Incident fractures overall
1071
Major osteoporotic fractures (MOF) overall
853
Hip fractures overall
232

Observational data: associations, not effects.

Further findings

Mean

OutcomeT2DWithout diabetes
Bone material strength index (BMSi), subsample · baseline78.0 (SD 8.3)78.1 (SD 7.3)

BMD, T2D vs without diabetes · baseline

Total hip BMD higher
4.4%
FN BMD higher
4.9%
Lumbar spine BMD higher
5.2%

Tibial bone microarchitecture (HR-pQCT), T2D vs without diabetes · baseline

Greater cortical area
7.4%
Greater cortical density
1.3%
Higher trabecular bone volume fraction
8.7%

Bone material strength index (BMSi), subsample · baseline

No difference in BMSi

Physical function, T2D vs without diabetes · baseline

Lower grip strength
9.7%
Slower gait speed
9.9%
Slower timed up-and-go time
13.9%
  • Lower performance on all physical function tests

Original publication

Type 2 Diabetes and Fracture Risk in Older Women. JAMA Netw Open. Published 1 August 2024. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.25106

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