Black women have lower fracture risk than whites with same bone density

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A comparison shows that black women are less likely to have a fracture than white women, even when their bone density is the same.
All older women are at risk of lower bone density which may lead to an increased risk of fractures. But black women appear to have a lower rate of fractures. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh now say that even at the same bone density, a black woman is less likely to have a fracture.

The team looked at a group of over 7,000 white women and over 600 black women, measuring their bone density and following them up for about six years. The black women were less likely to have a bone fracture than the white women, even if their bone density was the same. However, black women with decreased bone density still had an increased risk of fracture compared to those who had higher bone density. This means that doctors should look out for black women with lowered bone density and offer them medication or suggest other measures to help prevent fractures.

Source
Journal of the American Medical Association 4th May 2005 Volume 293 pages 2102-2108

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