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Fracture causes bone density losses throughout the body, not just close to the site of the fracture, and primarily around the time of the fracture. The studies are among the first to associate fractures with systemic bone loss. They also begin the path to finding treatments that preserve long-term skeletal health and reduce susceptibility to additional fractures and, potentially, osteoporosis, which is diagnosed when bone-density losses are severe. One fracture seems to lead to others because of imbalance in posture after the first fracture.
The first study was based on about 4,000 participants in the study of osteoporotic fractures, an observational study of older women that included hip bone mineral density (BMD) measures and fracture history gathered regularly over 20 years. Result showed that hip BMD decreased over time for all women in the study, but was greatest for those who had fractured a bone even if the fracture was not near the hip. BMD reductions averaged between .89 and .77 percent per year for those with fractures, and .66 percent per year for those with no fractures. Those losses were greatest within the first two years of a break.
The second study was conducted using mice with femur fractures and BMD tests in various bones, the fracture leads to bone loss throughout the body, most notably in the spine, and was greatest within the first two weeks of fracture. It also was accompanied by higher levels of inflammatory markers in the blood. The result showed age-related recovery differences; younger mice recovered their pre-fracture BMD levels, while older mice did not.