# FRACTURES IN OLDER WOMEN

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE · 1993 · $534,704

## Abstract

The Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF) is a multicenter prospective
study of the important source of disability in a cohort of 9,704 women
over ae 65. Three examinations have yielded a comprehensive set of
measurements that include bone density (BMD), neuromuscular function,
functional status, and other risk factors for fractures; follow-up over
2.7 years has been 99% complete. Among 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 interochanteric) 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 Exam and continued follow-up will allow is
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 Exam 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 interochanteric and cervical fractures of the hip have
different risk factors.

To study biochemical antecedents of fracture, we will use serum stored
at -190degrees 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:** 3157282
- **Project number:** 5R01AR035584-08
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE
- **SAM.gov UEI:** Z9CRZKD42ZT1
- **Principal Investigator:** Roger W. Sherwin
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1993
- **Award amount:** $534,704
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1986-02-01 → 1997-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3157282

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3157282, FRACTURES IN OLDER WOMEN (5R01AR035584-08). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-24 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3157282. Licensed CC0.

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