This study showed a higher prevalence of sarcopenia and more reduced leg muscle mass in patients after a hip fracture than in the outclinic patients who did not have hip fractures. The results imply sarcopenia can be a risk factor for a hip fracture.

We found higher prevalence of sarcopenia and lower leg muscle mass among patients with acute OVF compared with patients who did not have an OVF. These results suggest that sarcopenia may be a risk factor for OVF.

A method to protect the hips during falls could effectively reduce the incidence of hip fractures. We report the results of the first hip protector trial in Japan, performed between July 1996, and September 1999. One hundred and sixty-four elderly female residents of nursing homes, with Activities of Daily Living above the wheelchair level, agreed to participate in this study. Among them, 88 were randomly selected to wear a hip protector and 76 controls did not. All falls and resulting injuries were recorded daily. In anthropometric measurements and ultrasonic bone evaluation, no significant differences were found between the two groups, except in height. During an average of 377 days, the wearers and the non-wearers fell a total of 131 and 90 times, respectively. Among the wearers, there were two non-hip fractures and one hip fracture, so the annual hip fracture rate was calculated at 1.2%, against 8 hip fractures among the non-wearers, or 9.7% per year. The hip fracture rate was significantly lower among the wearers than non-wearers, while the annual number of falls per subject and the distribution of fallers remained the same. According to Cox's proportional hazard regression analysis, the effect of the hip protector on hip fracture prevention was independent of anthropometric data, ultrasonic bone assessment values or number of falls. Moreover, even after limiting the subjects to fallers only, the annual hip fracture rate in non-wearers was higher than in wearers (19.8% vs 2.0%) and the annual hip fracture rate per fall in wearers was lower than that in non-wearers (0.8% vs 8.2%). It was thus concluded that the hip protector is a beneficial device for the prevention of hip fractures.

Background: Muscle mass is often mentioned not to reflect muscle strength. For muscle mass assessment skeletal muscle index (SMI) is often used. We have reported that dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA)-derived SMI does not change with age in women, whereas the cross-sectional muscle area (CSMA) derived from computed tomography (CT) does. Objectives: The present study aimed to compare CT and DXA for the assessment of muscle tissue. Design & Setting: Cross-sectional study in the local residents. Participants: A total of 1818 subjects (age 40-89 years) randomly selected from community dwellers underwent CT examination of the right mid-thigh to measure the cross-sectional muscle area (CSMA). Skeletal muscle mass (SMM) was measured by DXA. The subjects performed physical function tests such as grip strength, knee extension strength, leg extension strength, and gait speed. The correlation between CT-derived CSMA and DXA-derived SMM along with their association with physical function was examined. Results: After controlling for related factors, the partial correlation coefficient of muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) with physical function was larger than that of DXA-derived SMM for gait speed in men (p=0.002) and knee extension strength in women (p=0.03). The partial correlation coefficient of quadriceps (Qc) CSA with physical function was larger than that of DXA-derived SMM for leg extension power in both sexes (p=0.01), gait speed in men (p<0.001), and knee extension strength in women (p<0.001). Conclusion: Mid-thigh CT-derived CSMA, especially Qc CSA, showed significant associations with grip strength, knee extension strength, and leg extension power, which were equal to or stronger than those of DXA-derived SMM in community-dwelling middle-aged and older Japanese people. The mid-thigh CSMA may be a predictor of mobility disability, and is considered to be useful in the diagnosis of sarcopenia.

The correct diagnosis rate for incident vertebral fractures with X-Ps was low (24.8%) and in cases with prevalent fractures, the rate was even lower (16.8%), but the number of prevalent fractures and BMD did not exert an effect. One key improving the correct diagnosis rate may be to pay attention to morphological changes in the anterior bone cortex.