Wrist Fractures Initiate Functional Decline

Older women who sustain wrist fractures are more likely to experience progressive functional decline than are women without wrist fractures.

Wrist fractures are more common than hip fractures in women who are younger than 75. Whereas functional decline after hip fractures has been well studied, deleterious effects of wrist fractures have not. In a subanalysis of the U.S. multicenter Study of Osteoporotic Fractures, researchers followed 6107 primarily white women (age, ≥65) for a mean of 7.6 years, during which 4.4% sustained wrist fractures. Five functional measures were assessed: meal preparation, heavy housekeeping, ability to climb 10 stairs, shopping, and getting out of a car.

Women with incident wrist fractures had substantially lower bone-mineral density (BMD), were more likely to report falls during the year before the fracture, and were less likely to be current or past e…

Reviewing Author

Wendy S. Biggs, MD

Wrist Fractures Initiate Functional Decline

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Reviewing Author