DIFFERENCES IN BODY-COMPOSITION BETWEEN FEMALE GERIATRIC HIP FRACTUREPATIENTS AND HEALTHY CONTROLS - BODY-FAT IS MORE IMPORTANT AS EXPLANATORY FACTOR FOR THE FRACTURE THAN BODY-WEIGHT AND LEAN BODY-MASS

Body weight and body composition change with advancing age. In elderly women, the loss of body weight is partially due to loss of body fat. We compared the body composition of 71 healthy female hip fracture pat ients and 51 controls. Body composition was estimated with an electric al impedance technique. The fracture patients had lower body weight, l ean body mass, body fat, body fat percentage, body mass index and age than the control group. No significant differences were found between the different fracture groups, except for a higher mean age in patient s with subtrochanteric fractures. Multivariate logistic regression ana lysis of body composition, body mass index, and age showed that the am ount of body fat, when adjusted for age, had greater explanatory value for fracture, than body weight, lean body mass, and body mass index. (C)1996, Editrice Kurtis