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Published on: September 8, 2023
Increasing Risk of Osteoporotic Fracture Is Associated With Vascular Dysfunction and Abnormal Vascular Structure in
Masato Kajikawa1, Nozomu Oda2, Shinji Kishimoto2
1Division of Regeneration and Medicine, Medical Center for Translational and Clinical Research, Hiroshima University Hospital.
Insights
Increased risk of osteoporotic fracture, assessed by FRAX, is linked to poor vascular function and structure. Monitoring osteoporosis may help reduce cardiovascular events.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular health
- Bone metabolism
- Geriatric medicine
Background:
- Osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease are significant public health concerns.
- Existing research indicates a link between osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease.
- However, the association between osteoporotic fracture risk and vascular function/structure remains unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between the risk of osteoporotic fracture and vascular function and structure.
- To determine if fracture risk independently predicts vascular health markers.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the World Health Organization fracture risk assessment tool (FRAX) to calculate osteoporotic fracture risk.
- Assessed vascular function via flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) and nitroglycerine-induced vasodilation (NID).
- Evaluated vascular structure by measuring brachial artery intima-media thickness (IMT) in 414 participants.
Main Results:
- FRAX scores showed significant negative correlations with FMD and NID, indicating poorer vascular function with higher fracture risk.
- FRAX scores demonstrated a positive correlation with brachial artery IMT, suggesting abnormal vascular structure in individuals with higher fracture risk.
- Multivariate analysis confirmed FRAX as an independent predictor of FMD, NID, and IMT in both men and women.
Conclusions:
- Elevated osteoporotic fracture risk, as determined by FRAX, is associated with impaired vascular function and abnormal vascular structure.
- These findings highlight the interconnectedness of bone health and cardiovascular health.
- Monitoring osteoporosis is crucial for potentially mitigating cardiovascular event risk.
Background:
Osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease are major public health problems. A number of clinical studies have shown a link between osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease, but there is no information on the associations of risk of osteoporotic fracture with vascular function and vascular structure.
Methods And Results:
The risk of major osteoporotic fracture was calculated using the World Health Organization fracture risk assessment tool (FRAX); vascular function was assessed using flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) and nitroglycerine-induced vasodilation (NID), and vascular structure was assessed on brachial artery intima-media thickness (IMT) in 414 subjects (241 men and 173 women) who underwent health examinations. On univariate regression, FRAX was negatively correlated with FMD (total, r=-0.16, P<0.001; men, r=-0.19, P=0.003; women, r=-0.25, P<0.001) and NID (total, r=-0.22, P<0.001; men, r=-0.19, P=0.003; women, r=-0.30, P<0.001) and was positively correlated with brachial artery IMT (total, r=0.12, P=0.02; men, r=0.22, P<0.001; women, r=0.33, P<0.001). On multivariate analysis FRAX remained an independent predictor of FMD, NID, and brachial artery IMT in both men and women.
Conclusions:
Increase in the risk of osteoporotic fracture evaluated on FRAX is associated with vascular dysfunction and abnormal vascular structure in both men and women. Osteoporosis should be monitored in order to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events.
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