Obese women have higher risk for hip fracture-related mortality; on average, they have higher bone density than normal-weight, but significantly faster bone loss <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/h3>\n <\/b><\/p>\n <\/b><\/p>\n WEDNESDAY, Dec. 9, 2020 (HealthDay News) — In postmenopausal women, obesity is associated with hip fracture risk between the ages of 58 and 70 years, according to a study recently published in Osteoporosis International<\/em>.<\/p>\n Toni Rikkonen, Ph.D., from the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio, and colleagues examined the long-term relationship of body mass index and hip fracture incidence in a cohort of 12,715 Finnish women born in 1932 to 1941 and followed for 25 years from ages 58 to 83 years. Analyses were conducted in two age strata: 58 to 70 years (early) and older than 70 years (late).<\/p>\n The researchers found that compared with overweight women, obese and normal-weight women had a higher risk for early hip fracture, with hazard ratios of 2.3 and 2.0, respectively; there were no differences seen in the risk for late hip fracture between the three weight categories. During follow-up, all-cause mortality was 19.3 percent. Obese women had a higher risk for death compared with normal-weight women (hazard ratio, 1.6) and higher baseline bone mineral density. Compared with other women, obese women had faster bone loss.<\/p>\n “The risk of early hip fracture occurring before the age of 70 is clearly highest in obese women — and especially in obese women who have a below-average bone density,” Rikkonen said in a statement. “Later, after around 75 years of age, the risk increases fastest in slender women. Aging women at the borderline between normal-weight and overweight seem to have the lowest risk.”<\/p>\n