Takeaway
- This study found no evidence that individuals with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes (T2D) are at an increased risk of fracture than those without T2D.
- Women with T2D had a small but statistically significant lower risk of fracture.
Why this matters
- Findings suggest that individuals should be encouraged to make positive lifestyle changes, including undertaking weight-bearing physical activities that improve bone health following T2D diagnosis.
Study design
- This population-based cohort study included 174,244 patients with incident T2D and compared their fracture risk over 15 years with 747,290 age-sex-practice matched individuals without T2D using data from The Health Improvement Network (THIN) database, UK.
- Funding: Division of Health Sciences, University of Otago.
Key results
- No increased risk of fracture was seen in men with T2D (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.97; 95% CI, 0.94-1.00) and a small decreased risk was noted in women with T2D (aHR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.92-0.96).
- In those aged ≥85 years, those in the T2D cohort were at a significantly reduced risk of incident fracture than those without T2D (men: aHR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.71-1.00; women: aHR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.78-0.94).
- For those in the most deprived areas, those in the T2D cohort were at a lower risk of fracture than those without T2D (men: aHR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.83-0.98; women: aHR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.85-0.97).
- Overweight men with T2D vs those without were at a lower risk of fracture (aHR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.86-0.96).
- Similarly, the risk of fracture was lower in obese women (class I or II obese) with T2D vs those without (aHR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.87-0.95).
- Annual fracture prevalence rates, by sex, were similar for those with and without T2D.
Limitations
- Retrospective design.
This clinical summary originally appeared on Univadis, part of the Medscape Professional Network.
