Diabetes News:

Postmenopausal Women With Diabetes at Greater Risk of Hip Fracture

Postmenopausal women with diabetes appear to be at significantly greater risk of suffering a hip fracture than women without diabetes, according to University of Minnesota Researchers.

The researchers tracked more than 30,000 Iowa women for 11 years, during which the women suffered a total of 490 hip fractures.

After adjusting for other factors, the researchers reported that women with type 1 diabetes were 12 times more likely to report a hip fracture than women without diabetes.

But even women with type 2 diabetes were almost twice as likely to have a hip fracture as women without diabetes.

"Longer duration of type 2 diabetes was associated with higher incidence, as was use of insulin or oral diabetes medications in women with type 2 diabetes," the researchers said.

Based on their conclusion that "postmenopausal women who have diabetes or in whom diabetes develops are at higher risk for hip fracture than nondiabetic postmenopausal women," the researchers recommended that strategies to prevent osteoporosis and/or falling appear especially warranted in women with diabetes.

Source: Medical Week staff, week of July 22, 2001