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Updated: Apr 24, 2026
Method and Instrumented Fixture for Femoral Fracture Testing in a Sideways Fall-on-the-Hip Position
Published on: August 17, 2017
Bone-muscle indices as risk factors for fractures in men: the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) Study
A K O Wong1, P M Cawthon, K W Peters
1Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Objective:
To assess bone-muscle (B-M) indices as risk factors for incident fractures in men.
Methods:
Participants of the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) Study completed a peripheral quantitative computed tomography scan at 66% of their tibial length. Bone macrostructure, estimates of bone strength, and muscle area were computed. Areal bone mineral density (aBMD) and body composition were assessed with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Four year incident non-spine and clinical vertebral fractures were ascertained. B-M indices were expressed as bone-to-muscle ratios for: strength, mass and area. Discriminative power and hazards ratios (HR) for fractures were reported.
Results:
In 1163 men (age: 77.2±5.2 years, body mass index (BMI): 28.0±4.0 kg/m(2), 4.1±0.9 follow-up years, 7.7% of men ⋝1 fracture), B-M indices were smaller in fractured men except for bending and areal indices. Smaller B-M indices were associated with increased fracture risk (HR: 1.30 to 1.74) independent of age and BMI. Strength and mass indices remained significant after accounting for lumbar spine but not total hip aBMD. However, aBMD correlated significantly with B-M indices.
Conclusion:
Mass and bending B-M indices are risk factors for fractures in men, but may not improve fracture risk prediction beyond that provided by total hip aBMD.
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