Prevalence of Low Bone Mineral Density in Younger Versus Older Women With Distal Radius Fractures.

Although distal radius fractures (DRFs) are the most common fractures among younger women, few studies have examined bone health in this age group. We compared bone mineral density (BMD) of younger women (35-50 years) and older women (>50 years) treated for DRFs. Between January 2005 and August 2010, our orthopedic service obtained dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry scans from 128 women with DRFs (47 were 35-50 years old; 81 were older than 50 years). According to the World Health Organization classification system, 43% of the younger patients were osteopenic, and 6% were osteoporotic. Mean femoral neck BMD was 0.91 for the younger group and 0.80 for the older group (P < .05); t scores were -0.87 and -1.65, respectively (P < .05). The difference in femoral neck z scores between the younger and older patients was not statistically different: -0.69 and -0.67, respectively (P = .92). A notable proportion of younger patients with DRFs have osteopenia or osteoporosis. The similarity in z scores among younger and older women with DRFs and among patient groups differentiated by mechanism of injury suggests that any younger or older woman with a DRF should have her BMD evaluated and treated as appropriate.