MedWire News: Socioeconomic status may alter a patient’s risk for osteoporotic fracture, with marital status one possible factor, suggests a review published in the journal Osteoporosis International.
Acknowledging that socioeconomic status is inversely related to most diseases, a team of Australian researchers conducted a literature review to determine the impact of socioeconomic status on osteoporotic fracture.
They identified 12 studies published through 1966– 2007 examining the impact of income, education, occupation, type of residence, and marital status on osteoporotic fracture in population-based adults.
Assessing the studies for methodology, the researchers identified flaws in the studies, such as nonreproducible means of identifying fractures or not confirming fractures by radiological methods. Five of the studies were define as being high quality.
Best evidence analysis indicated that there was a strong link between being married or living with someone and a reduced risk for osteoporotic fractures compared with living alone, even after adjusting for age.
There was also limited evidence from best evidence analysis to suggest fracture risk might be affected by type of residence, with a reduced risk for individuals living in a larger house.
In addition, for individuals aged less than 60 years working had a lower risk than unemployed individuals, but there was no link between risk and type of employment.
Finally, best evidence analysis revealed conflicting results for a positive association between risk for fracture and high income, and suggested that educational attainment might have an age-dependent, non-significant relationship with fracture risk.
“Limited good quality evidence exists of the role socioeconomic status might play in osteoporotic fracture,” conclude Anita Wluka (Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria) and co-authors.
“Further research is required to identify whether a relationship exists, and to elucidate underlying mechanisms, as a necessary precursor to considering intervention implications.”
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