Elevated homocysteine linked to greater risk of osteoporotic fracture

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Elevated homocysteine linked to greater risk of

osteoporotic fracture

 

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