Environmental and metabolic influences on musculoskeletal and other diseases in a cohort of elderly women

骨质疏松症是一种基本上可以预防的疾病，但十分之一的澳大利亚人患有骨质疏松症。每年发生64，000例骨质疏松性骨折，即每8.1分钟发生一次，女性患这种疾病的可能性是男性的三倍。自1998年以来，西澳大利亚大学的骨骼和钙研究小组一直在监测一组老年妇女。这项研究被称为钙摄入量骨折结果研究或CAIFOS。招募了1,500名妇女，研究5年来每天补充钙是否有助于预防骨折，与没有补充剂的饮食相比。每年都会对研究参与者进行审查，并询问他们是否骨折，以及是否有其他测量方法来监测他们的骨骼和心血管健康以及认知功能。受试者将在2003年结束治疗阶段，他们将了解研究结果。超过93%的人有兴趣再接受5年的随访，每6个月与他们联系一次，询问他们的一般健康状况，包括骨折、医院就诊和药物使用变化等信息。受试者将在治疗后2年和5年接受诊所访视。随着研究第一阶段不良事件数据以及代谢和环境数据的持续收集，我们将能够检查影响肌肉骨骼，心血管和心理健康的代谢和环境因素。这对于确定我们如何预防疾病以维持老年人的生活质量和独立性至关重要，老年人是人口中不断增长的一部分。

Osteoporosis is a largely preventable disease yet 1 in 10 Australians have osteoporosis. Every year >64,000 osteoporotic fractures occur, which is one every 8.1 minutes and women are three times as likely to have the disease than men. The Bone and Calcium Research Group at the University of Western Australia, has been monitoring a cohort of elderly women for since 1998. This study is called the Calcium Intake Fracture Outcome Study or CAIFOS. 1,500 women were recruited to study whether a daily calcium supplement for 5 years helps to prevent fractures compared to a diet without a supplement. Each year the study participants are reviewed and asked whether or not they have broken any bones and have other measurements to monitor their bone and cardiovascular health and cognitive function. The subjects will end the treatment phase in 2003 and they will find out the results of the study. More than 93% are interested in being followed for a further 5 years, where they will be contacted every 6 months and asked questions about their general health including information on fracture, hospital visits and changes in medication use. The subjects will have a clinic visits at 2 and 5 years post treatment. With the ongoing collection of adverse event data and metabolic and environmental data from the first phase of the study, we will be able to examine the metabolic and environmental factors that influence musculoskeletal, cardiovascular and mental health. This is important to determine how we can prevent disease to maintain the quality of life and independence in the elderly, a growing segment of the population.