Hip fracture risk in men could be inherited from granddads
19 February 2010
Young men whose grandfathers have a history of hip fractures may themselves be at increased risk of low bone density and reduced bone size.
Swedish researchers said their study was the first to find bone strength and bone mineral conditions may be passed down over 2 generations (J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2010; online first).
Grandsons of men with hip fracture had 4.9 per cent lower bone mineral density (BMD) at the lumbar spine and 4.1 per cent lower total femur (thigh bone) BMD, compared to those without this family history, they found.
The association remained after adjusting for risk factors including age, weight, height, smoking, calcium intake and physical activity.
Professor John Eisman, director of osteoporosis and bone biology at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, said the findings expanded on previous evidence showing risk of osteoporosis was associated with a family history of fractures in first-degree relatives.
“There is strong evidence that a large proportion, maybe 70 or 80 per cent of the risk that we have of how good our bones are was really determined when we chose our parents,” he said.
“It’s good to remind people that this runs in families… if you’ve got a family history [of fractures] whoever you are, you are probably better off taking the health of your bones more seriously,” he said.
Although he warned the long-term effect of exercise on bone mass in adolescents with a family history of hip fractures had not been analysed, he recommended people at risk of osteoporosis adopt a healthy lifestyle.
The study included 1015 grandsons and 3688 grandparents, drawn from the Swedish national registry.
Last Reviewed: 19 February 2010
- 1. Rudang R, Ohlsson C, Oden A, Johansson H, Mellstrom D, Lorentzon M. Hip fracture prevalence in grandfathers is associated with reduced cortical cross-sectional bone area in their young adult grandsons. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2010; online first. Available at: http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/jc.2009-1098v1
