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High triglyceride levels raise nontraumatic fracture risk in women
The risk for incident nontraumatic fracture is increased in middle-aged women with high fasting plasma triglycerides, study data show.
Jennifer S. Lee, MD, PhD, division of endocrinology, gerontology and metabolism, department of medicine at Stanford Medical Center, and colleagues evaluated data from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN; 1995-1997 enrollment) on 2,062 women (median age, 46 years) from five U.S. communities with near-annual assessments. Participants were premenopausal or early perimenopausal women without a history of fracture at baseline. Data for the current study were evaluated 13 years after the beginning of SWAN.
The main outcome measures included incident nontraumatic fractures 2 or more years after baseline in relation to a single baseline level of lipids and 2 to 5 years later in relation to time-varying lipid levels. At baseline and visits 1 and 3 through 7, serum fasting plasma total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL and HDL were measured.
Median triglyceride levels increased by 16% from baseline (89 mg/dL) to visit 7 (103 mg/dL). There were increases in median levels of total cholesterol (7% increase), HDL (7% increase) and LDL (9% increase).
Nontraumatic fractures occurred in 147 participants from visit 2 to 13 and consisted of fractures of the foot (33%), ankle (16%), wrist (13%), ribs (12%) and legs (9%).
After adjustment for smoking status, alcohol use, physical activity, menopausal stage, diabetes, BMI and lumber spine bone mineral density, each increase of single baseline triglyceride level by 50 mg/dL was linked to increased risks for incident fractures (adjusted HR = 1.11; 95% CI, 1.04-1.18). Compared with participants with baseline triglycerides less than 150 mg/dL, participants with baseline triglyceride levels of at least 300 mg/dL had a 2.5-fold greater risk for fracture at visit 2 (HR = 2.48; 95% CI, 1.13-5.44).
“No associations were observed between other plasma lipids and fractures,” the researchers wrote. “Using three analytical approaches, higher triglyceride levels were consistently associated with an increased risk of incident fracture. To our knowledge, this prospective, longitudinal, multiethnic cohort study was the first to assess time-points across 7 years, in relation to incident nontraumatic fractures.” – by Amber Cox
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.