SERUM UNDERCARBOXYLATED OSTEOCALCIN IS A MARKER OF THE RISK OF HIP FRACTURE - A 3-YEAR FOLLOW-UP-STUDY

We have previously shown that elderly women with an increased serum un dercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC) level have an increased risk of sus taining a hip fracture as compared to those with normal serum ucOC, We reassessed our findings on a larger number of hip fractures that occu rred over 3 years in 183 institutionalized women (aged 70-97 years) be longing to a large prospective clinical trial, Total OC, carboxylated OC, ucOC, and alkaline phosphatase were significantly higher at baseli ne in those who sustained a hip fracture during the follow-up. The age -adjusted odds ratio for hip fracture was three times higher in women with increased ucOC at baseline (odds ratio = 3.1, 99.9% C.I. = 1.7-6. 0, p < 0.001), In the logistic regression, ucOC was still predictive o f the hip fracture when age and parathyroid hormone concentration were included into the model (odds ratio = 2.6, 95% C.I. = 1.05-6.4), Thes e data confirm that ucOC is a marker of the increased risk of hip frac ture in elderly institutionalized women, Serum ucOC may reflect some n utritional deficiency associated with increased bone fragility.