Parental hip fracture independently ups offspring risk

(HealthDay)—Parental hip fracture (HF) is independently associated with increased risk of offspring major osteoporotic fracture (MOF) and HF, according to research published online April 8 in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.

Shuman Yang, Ph.D., from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, and colleagues used a population-based historical cohort study of 261,705 offspring (age, ≤40 years) with at least one linked parent (478,792 parents) to examine the correlation of objectively verified HF with offspring MOF and HF.

The researchers identified 7,323 incident MOF during 2.9 million person-years of offspring follow-up (4.4 percent versus 2.7 percent for those with and without a parental HF, respectively; P < 0.001), including 331 HF (0.3 versus 0.1 percent, respectively; P < 0.001). There was an independent association for parental HF with increased risk of MOF (hazard ratio, 1.30; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.20 to 1.41). There was a decrease in the strength of the association with older parental age at HF (P_trend < 0.001); the association was no longer significant for parental HF after age 80 years (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.07; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.96 to 1.19). An even stronger correlation was seen for parental HF and offspring HF (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.64; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.21 to 2.23).

"Our findings confirm and extend the importance of parental HF as a risk factor for osteoporotic fractures," the authors write.

Two authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.