Does age influence the risk for fractures (broken bones)?
Broken bones as a result of osteoporosis generally do not occur until later in life even though damage to the skeleton can begin many years earlier. The risk for fractures in the spine and hip increases after about age 50 in both men and women. Spine fractures increase most dramatically beginning at age 50. The increase in the rate of hip fractures occurs later, after age 65. There are several reasons for the increased risk for broken bones with age including: the loss of bone, the reduced quality of bone and the increased risk of falling associated with age. If you were to compare two women with the same bone density, one age 50 and the other age 80, they would have very different risks for most types of fractures. The 80 year-old would have a risk for hip fracture several times greater than the 50 year-old. Does age increase the risk of all types of fractures? Age does not increase the risk of all types of broken bones. The risk of a wrist fracture does not increase steadily with age
