Bone density--fracture risk link holds for very elderly women. (Aged 80 and Older).

SAN ANTONIO -- Women aged 800 or older have as much risk from weak bones as younger women do, based on a survey of more than 160,000 women.

"The relationship between fracture risk and bone mineral density persisted regardless of age, Dr. Ethel S. Sins said in a poster presentation at the annual meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

This conclusion came from studying data collected in the National Osteoporosis Risk Assessment study, which recruited more than 200,000 postmenopausal women aged 50 or older from about 4,000 primary care practices in 34 states during 1997-1999. All of the women had no prior diagnosis of osteoporosis, and none were taking osteoporosis-specific medication. All of the women underwent a baseline measurement of their bone mineral density at the time of their enrollment.

A total of 163,935 women responded to a follow-up survey a year after their entry including 8,846 women aged 80 or older. The follow-up group included 2,440 women who self-reported a new, osteoporosis-related bone fracture that occurred during the year following their enrollment.

The risk of fracture was similar for all women within a T-score category regardless of their age. (See table.)

Compared with women with T scores of more than -1, those with T scores between -1 and -2 had a fracture risk that was 50%-70% higher across the entire age spectrum studied, said Dr. Sins, who is professor of clinical medicine at Columbia University in New York.