Body mass index, height, and osteoporotic fracture risk in community-dwelling Japanese people aged 40–74 years

Introduction

The association between body size and fracture risk is complex and varies by sex and ethnicity. This study aimed to examine associations of body mass index (BMI) and height with osteoporotic fracture risk in middle-aged and older people.

Materials and Methods

This 10-year cohort study included 13,151 community-dwelling Japanese people aged 40–74 years. A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted at baseline to obtain information on demographic characteristics, body size, lifestyle, and disease history. BMI (kg/m²) was categorized as underweight (< 18.5), low-normal (18.5–21.7), high-normal (21.8–24.9), overweight (25.0–29.9), and obese (≥ 30.0). Height was categorized into quartiles. All incident cases of major osteoporotic fractures, including fractures of the distal radius, neck of the humerus, neck or trochanter of the femur, and vertebrae, were obtained from medical records during follow-up.

Results

Mean participant age was 58.8 years. In men, the underweight group had a significantly higher hazard ratio (HR) for total fracture (adjusted HR = 2.46), and the obese group had significantly higher HRs for total (adjusted HR = 3.01) and vertebral (HR = 3.77) fractures relative to the reference (overweight) group. No significant associations were observed between BMI and risk of any fracture in women. Higher quartiles of height were associated with higher vertebral fracture risk (adjusted P for trend = 0.023) only in women.

Conclusion

BMI and osteoporotic fracture risk showed a U-shaped association in men, whereas higher height was associated with higher vertebral fracture risk in women, suggesting sex-dependent differences in these associations.