Hip fracture in elderly men: the importance of subclinical vitamin D deficiency and hypogonadism

OBJECTIVE: To determine the major risk factors for hip fracture in elderly men. DESIGN: Prospective recruitment, followed by analysis of clinical and biochemical variables. PATIENTS AND SETTING: Men aged 60 years and older who presented to St George Hospital (a 650-bed tertiary-care centre) in 1995, comprising all 41 men with hip fractures, as well as 41 hospital inpatient and 41 outpatient control subjects without hip fractures. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Osteoporotic risk factors (including age, body weight, comorbid illnesses, alcohol intake, cigarettes smoked, and corticosteroid use) and serum concentrations of creatinine, urea, calcium, albumin, alkaline phosphatase, parathyroid hormone, 25-hydroxyvitamin D and free testosterone. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the hip fracture and two control groups on any of the osteoporotic risk factors. Men with hip fracture had significantly lower mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration (45.6 nmol/L; 95% confidence interval [CI], 36.9-52.3 nmol/L) than both inpatient (61.1 nmol/L; 95% CI, 50.0-72.2 nmol/L) and outpatient (65.9 nmol/L; 95% CI, 59.0-72.8 nmol/L) controls (P=0.007). Subclinical vitamin D deficiency (defined as Language: en