Elevated homocysteine linked to greater risk of osteoporotic fracture

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Elevated

homocysteine linked

to greater risk of osteoporotic fracture

 

http://www.swansonvitamins.com/include/newsletter/emailRU_091004/RUa1_091004.html

 

 

 

Researchers in

Boston and The Netherlands have found that high homocysteine levels are

strong risk factors for osteoporotic fractures in older men and women.

 

One study, coming out of the Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for Aged

Research and Training Institute, Boston, examined the association

between the total homocysteine concentration and the risk of hip

fracture in men and women enrolled in the Framingham Study. Scientists

began their investigation feeling that high homocysteine concentrations

may weaken bone by interfering with collagen cross-linking, thereby

increasing the risk of osteoporotic fracture.

 

Researchers studied 825 men and 1,174 women, ranging in age from 59 to

91 years, from whom blood samples had been obtained between 1979 and

1982 to measure plasma total homocysteine. Participants in the study

were followed from the time that the sample was obtained through June

1998.

 

By the end of the study, 41 men and 146 women had experienced hip

fractures. By measuring and categorizing homocysteine levels in the

study participants, researchers found that higher homocysteine levels

correlated to higher risk of fracture. Men and women with the highest

homocysteine levels were at the greatest risk; four times as high for

men and almost two times as high for women.

 

A study at the Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus Medical Center,

Rotterdam, The Netherlands, investigated the association between

circulating homocysteine levels and the risk of incident osteoporotic

fracture in 2,406 subjects, 55 years or older.

 

Again, researchers found that higher homocysteine levels brought an

increased risk of bone fracture in both men and women. Plus,

researchers discovered that the chances of fractures caused by high

homocysteine levels appear to be unrelated to bone mineral density and

other potential risk factors for fracture, leading scientists to

conclude, “an increased homocysteine level appears to be a strong and

independent risk factor for osteoporotic fractures in older men and

women."

 

New England Journal of Medicine 350(20):2042-2049, 2004

New England Journal of Medicine 350(20):2033-2041, 2004

 

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