Long-term consequences of fracture of the lower leg: cross-sectional study and long-term longitudinal follow-up of bone mineral density in the hip after fracture of lower leg

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether bone loss in the hip, occurring after a fracture of the lower leg, persists many years after the fracture. In a long-term follow-up we measured bone mineral density (BMD) by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) of both hips and the lumbar spine in a group of 11 patients, 5 years after a fracture of the lower leg. These patients were part of an earlier study, evaluating bone loss in the hip, up to 1 year after fracture of the lower leg. In this follow-up study, 5 years after fracture, loss from baseline BMD in the trochanteric region of the ipsilateral hip was 4.7% (p = 0.04), whereas after a year in this group there was a decrease of 12.5% from baseline. On the contralateral side, hardly any change occurred. In the ipsilateral femoral neck, 5 years after fracture, BMD decreased by 2.9% (p = 0.10), after 1 year loss from baseline was 5.1%. In a cross-sectional study we examined the differences in BMD of both hips, measured by DXA, in a group of 19 elderly patients reporting a fracture of the lower leg, with a mean time of 9.3 years after fracture. In this study, we found a 4.7% lower BMD in the trochanteric region of the hip on the fractured side compared with the nonfractured side (p = 0.006), and a 2.9% lower BMD in the femoral neck (p = 0.25). We conclude that, after fracture of the lower leg, BMD in the ipsilateral hip decreases significantly, with maximal bone loss after 1 year. After 5 years recovery has occurred, but not to baseline. Thereafter, significant excess bone loss is still observed in the trochanteric region. This persisting lower BMD may lead to an increased risk of another fracture in later years.