Metabolic factors and hip fracture risk in a large Austrian cohort study

Abstract To explore the association of incident hip fractures with metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its single components, we designed a prospective cohort study of hip fracture incidence among 117,053 participants of a population-based health surveillance program in Vorarlberg, the westernmost Austrian province. Incident hip fractures were recorded between 5 and 10 years after inclusion at baseline from 2003 to 2009. Applying Cox proportional hazard models for each MetS component and for a composite z-score for MetS, hazards for fracture were estimated in quintiles, as continuous z-score variables, and as pathological cut off values. Mean age was 50.1 ± 15.6 years at baseline, 5–10 years after which 947 incident hip fractures occurred. An association of a higher composite MetS score with decreased hip fracture risk was observed in women (HR 0.80, 95%-CI 0.88–0.96, p