# FRACTURES IN OLDER WOMEN

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 1992 · $484,269

## Abstract

The Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF) is a multicenter prospective
study of this important source disability in a cohort of 9,704 women over
age 65.  Three examinations have yielded a comprehensive set of
measurements that include bone mineral density (BMD), neuromuscular
function, functional status, and other factors for fractures; follow-up
over 2.7 years has been 99% complete.  Among the many findings of SOF are
the demonstration that appendicular BMD predicts hip and other types of
fractures; the description of the risk factors for wrist and humerus
fractures; the observation that the two types of hip fractures (cervical
and intertrochanteric) have different relationships to bone density; and
the discovery that women with low bone density have an increased risk of
death from stroke.

We propose to continue SOF to answer additional questions about fractures
in women.  A Year 5 examination and continued follow-up will allow us to
test the ability of ultrasound to predict fractures and determine whether
it adds information on fracture risk to that provided by densitometry.  At
the Year 5 examination, we will also measure calcium absorption to test the
hypothesis that it is associated with more rapid bone loss and more
fractures.  Updated measures of bone density, functional status, and
neuromuscular function will provide values proximate to subsequent
fractures and allow us to examine rate of change as a predictor of hip and
other fractures.  Continued follow-up will also allow a test of the
hypothesis that intertrochanteric and cervical fractures of the hip have
different risk factors.

To study biochemical antecedents of fracture, we will use serum stored at
-190 degrees Celsius since the baseline examination; we have demonstrated
that hormone levels have remained stable in these samples over 3.5 years.
We will examine the levels of hormones, growth factors, and markers of bone
turnover as predictors of subsequent hip, wrist, and vertebral fractures.
Using an efficient nested case-cohort approach, we will test, for example,
whether women with low levels of 25(OH) Vitamin D have an increased risk of
hip fracture.

The strengths of SOF include its large sample of well-characterized older
women, its prospective design with excellent rates of follow-up, its
comprehensive measurements of bone mass and neuromuscular function, and its
stable bank of frozen sera.  Continued study of this unique cohort is
likely to produce important advances in understanding and preventing
fractures in older women.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3157246
- **Project number:** 2R01AR035582-07
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **SAM.gov UEI:** MKAGLD59JRL1
- **Principal Investigator:** JANE Ann CAULEY
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1992
- **Award amount:** $484,269
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 1986-02-01 → 1997-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3157246

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3157246, FRACTURES IN OLDER WOMEN (2R01AR035582-07). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3157246. Licensed CC0.

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