HIP BONE DENSITY IN ELDERLY AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN

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The purpose of this project is to assess bone mineral density and bone mineral homeostasis in elderly African-American women as compared to age matched Caucasians women. It is anticipated that from this thorough characterization of bone metabolism in elderly African-American women, inferences can be made concerning predictors for their hip fracture risk. The study measures bone mineral density ( femoral neck and lumbar spine) and biochemical determinants of bone homeostasis ( calcium, vitamin D and urinary hydroxyproline) of community dwelling, ambulatory women ages 69-79 years old and makes racial comparisons. A sample size of 100 women (50 African-American, 50 Caucasian) allows for a power of with a significance of 5 % to detect a 0.5 standard deviation in bone mineral density between the races. To date 104 subjects have been screened for participation in this study. Seventy-eight subjects (51 Caucasian, 27 African-American) have met inclusion criteria and have been enrolled in the study protocol. Preliminary data analysis shows a trend of increased bone mineral density among African-American women as compared to Caucasian women (mean hip bmd g/cm2 African-American - 0.8011 0.16, Caucasian - 0.7411 0.13 p= 0.07). Data collection and subject recruitment are still in process, complete statistical analysis of the results are not available at this time. Data collection and recruitment will continue to achieve a sample size of 100-123 subjects. The study protocol will not be changed. Although the incidence of hip fracture is lower in African-American women than Caucasian women, African-American women that are hospitalized with hip fractures have increased mortality and disability than Caucasian women. There is little published information concerning elderly African-American women and bone mineral density or fracture risk. It is anticipated that inferences concerning hip fracture risk among African-American women can be drawn at the conclusion of this study.