The findings in this study indicate that there appear to be important variations in the QoL decrements related to fracture between countries.

Study design: Prospective study on patients with spinal cord injuries. Objectives: To evaluate the loss of bone mineral density (BMD) in various body regions of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) and its dependence on weight bearing activities during 2 years post injury. Methods: BMD of the whole body was measured in patients with SCI. Baseline measurement was performed in 6-16 weeks after SCI, the second and the thirdFrespectively 12 and 24 months after injury. Fifty-four subjects were selected and divided into two groups: standing and non-standing. From these groups 27 pairs were made according to gender, age and height. Results: There was found to be a well-marked decrease in BMD values for lower extremities, but there was no significant difference between paraplegic and tetraplegic patients 1 and 2 year after injury. Leg BMD reduced by 19.62% (95% CI, 17-22%) in the standing group and by 24% (95% CI, 21-27%) in non-standing group during the first year. Two years after SCI patients in standing group had significantly higher leg BMDF1.018 g/cm 2 (95% CI, 0.971-1.055 g/cm 2 ) than in the non-standing groupF0.91 g/cm 2 (95% CI, 0.872-0.958 g/cm 2 ) (Pp0.0001). Conclusion: SCI patients who performed daily standing X1 h and not less than 5 days per week, had significantly higher BMD in the lower extremities after 2 years in comparison to those patients who did not perform standing.

Hip, vertebral, and distal forearm fractures incur substantial loss in QoL and for patients with hip or vertebral fracture, QoL is markedly impaired for at least 18 months.

Background and Objective. Variation of osteoporosis in the population is the result of an interaction between the genotype and the environment, and the genetic causes of osteoporosis are being widely investigated. The aim of this study was to analyze the association between the polymorphisms of the vitamin D receptor (VDR), type I collagen (COL1A1), and lactase (LCT) genes and severe postmenopausal osteoporosis as well as bone mineral density (BMD). Material and Methods. A total of 54 women with severe postmenopausal osteoporosis and 77 controls (mean age, 58.3 years [SD, 6.2] and 56.7 years [SD, 7.42], respectively) were included into the study. The subjects were recruited at the City Center for Osteoporosis Prevention (Minsk, Belarus). Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry was used to measure bone mineral density at the lumbar spine and the femoral neck. Severe osteoporosis was diagnosed in the women with the clinical diagnosis of postmenopausal osteoporosis and at least 1 fragility fracture. The control group included women without osteoporosis. Polymorphic sites in osteoporosis predisposition genes (ApaI, BsmI, TaqI, and Cdx2 of the VDR gene, G2046T of the COL1A1 gene, and T-13910C of the LCT gene) were determined using the polymerase chain reaction on the deoxyribonucleic acid isolated from dried bloodspots. Results. The data showed that the ApaI and BsmI polymorphisms of the VDR gene and T- 13910C of the LCT gene were associated with severe postmenopausal osteoporosis in the analyzed Belarusian women (P<0.01). A statistically significant positive correlation between the VDR risk genotypes ApaI and TaqI and bone mineral density was found (P<0.05). Conclusions. The findings of this study suggest that at least the ApaI and BsmI polymorphisms of the VDR gene and T-13910C of the LCT gene are associated with the risk of postmenopausal osteoporosis in our sample of the Belarusian women.

Objectives The Sarcopenia Quality of Life (SarQoL) questionnaire, a sarcopenia-specific patientreported outcome measure, evaluates quality of life with 55 items. It produces 7 domain scores and 1 overall quality of life score, all between 0 and 100 points. This study aims to contribute to the interpretation of the SarQoL scores by calculating the standard error of measurement (SEM) and smallest detectable change (SDC) in a sample of subjects from 9 studies. Methods Subjects from 9 studies (conducted in Belgium,

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The approach to derive QoL markedly influences the estimated QoL impact of fracture. Therefore the choice of approach may be important for the outcome and interpretation of cost-effectiveness analysis of fracture prevention.

The data on the self-reported consequences of falls in elderly women showed a significant number of fall-related injuries and a high cost of healthcare.