Cardiovascular risk factor analysis in patients with a recent clinical fracture at the fracture liaison service

Caroline E Wyers1, Lisanne Vranken1, Robert Y van der Velde2

  • 1Department of Internal Medicine, VieCuri Medical Centre, P.O. Box 1926, 5900 BX Venlo, The Netherlands ; Department of Internal Medicine, NUTRIM School for Nutrition, Toxicology and Metabolism, Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC), P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands.

Insights

Patients with fractures often have underlying cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and venous thromboembolic events (VTE). This risk increases with age, highlighting the need for comprehensive medical history evaluation in fracture patients.

Area of Science:

  • Gerontology
  • Cardiology
  • Endocrinology
  • Orthopedics
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Low bone mineral density is linked to increased risks of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and venous thromboembolic events (VTE).
  • Fracture Liaison Services (FLS) offer a critical point for assessing fracture risk and associated comorbidities.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the prevalence of CVD, VTE, hypertension (HT), and diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2) in patients presenting with recent clinical fractures to an FLS.
  • To analyze the association of these comorbidities with patient demographics and fracture characteristics.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective chart review of 1359 patients aged 50-90 years attending an FLS for fracture risk evaluation.
  • Data collection included medical history of CVD, VTE, HT, and DM2, alongside demographic and fracture information.

Main Results:

  • A significant prevalence of comorbidities was observed: 29.9% of patients had a history of CVD, VTE, HT, DM2, or a combination.
  • Comorbidity prevalence increased substantially with age, from 21% in the 50-59 age group to 48% in those over 80.
  • Comorbidities were more prevalent in men (36%) than women (27%) and were independent of bone mineral density and fracture type.

Conclusions:

  • Patients with recent clinical fractures frequently present with significant cardiovascular and thromboembolic risk factors.
  • Age is a key determinant of comorbidity prevalence in this population.
  • Thorough medical history assessment is crucial in fracture patients, especially before initiating medications that may increase VTE or cardiovascular event risk.

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