Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine whether geographic area or water fluoride were related to the occurrence of fractures among the elderly in the United States. We used a 5% sample of the white U.S. Medicare population, aged 65 to 89 years during the period 1986-1990, to identify fractures of the hip, proximal humerus, distal forearm, and ankle. The association of geographic region and fluoridation status with fracture rates was assessed using Poisson regression. We found that rates of hip fracture were generally lower in the northern regions of the United States and higher in the southern regions. For fractures of the distal forearm and proximal humerus, lower rates were found in the Western states, and higher rates in the East. No discernible geographic pattern was found for ankle fractures. Adjustment for water fluoridation did not influence these results. Independent of geographic effects, men in fluoridated areas had modestly higher rates of fractures of the distal forearm and proximal humerus than did men in nonfluoridated areas; no such differences were observed among women, nor for fractures of the hip or ankle among either men or women. In conclusion, our data suggest that fractures of the distal forearm and proximal humerus have etiologic determinants distinct from those of fractures of the hip or ankle.

• Related Studies :

  • Exposure to natural fluoride in well water and hip fracture: a cohort analysis in Finland

    In the retrospective cohort study based on record linkage, the authors studied a cohort of persons born in 1900-1930 (n = 144,627), who had lived in the same rural location at least from 1967 to 1980. Estimates for fluoride concentrations (median, 0.1 mg/liter; maximum, 2.4 mg/liter) in well water in

  • Summary of workshop on drinking water fluoride influence on hip fracture on bone health. (National Institutes of Health, 10 April, 1991)

    An ecologic study [22] compared fracture rates in 216 counties with natural fluoride levels greater than 0.7 ppm with rates in 95 counties with naturally low fluoride (less than 0.4 PPM) in the drinking water (Dose Ecology Study). Hip fracture ratios used as a denominator the hip fracture rates

  • The association between water fluoridation and hip fracture among white Women and Men aged 65 years and older: A national ecologic study

    For the past 45 years, there has been a great deal of debate regarding the health issues surrounding the fluoridation of public water supplies. In order to assess the association between fluoridation and hip fracture, we identified 129 counties across the United States considered to be exposed to public water

  • Hip fractures and fluoridation in Utah's elderly population

    OBJECTIVE: To test the effect of water fluoridated to 1 ppm on the incidence of hip fractures in the elderly. DESIGN: Ecological cohort. SETTING: The incidence of femoral neck fractures in patients 65 years of age or older was compared in three communities in Utah, one with and two without water fluoridated

  • Mechanical properties and density of bone in a case of severe endemic fluorosis

    Mechanical properties of 25 standardized specimens of compact bone from a 45-year-old man with extreme endemic fluorosis were compared with similar specimens of nonfluorotic bone. Data from dry and wet tested specimens were compared. Tensile strength, strain, energy absorbed to failure, and modulus of elasticity were reduced in fluorotic specimens

• Related FAN Content :

  • Fluoride Reduces Bone Strength Prior to Onset of Skeletal Fluorosis

    The majority of animal studies investigating fluoride's impact on bone strength have found that fluoride has either no effect, or a detrimental effect, on bone strength. Importantly, several of the animal studies that have found fluoride reductes bone strength have reported that this reduction in strength occurs before signs of skeletal fluorosis

  • Fluoride Content of Bone Impairs Bone Quality

      Water Fluoridation Increases the Fluoride Content of Bone "Fluoride analyses of the cadaver material from Kuopio revealed that fluoridation of drinking water increases the fluoride concentration in bone. In some individual cases the amount of fluoride in trabecular bone may rise to relatively high levels, notably in patients with impaired renal

  • The Relationship Between Fluoride, Bone Density, and Bone Strength

    Although fluoride has generally been found to reduce the bone density of cortical bone, it is well documented that fluoride can increase the density of trabecular bone (aka cancellous bone). Trabecular  bone is the primary bone of the spine, whereas cortical bone is the primary bone of the legs and arms. While increases in

  • Fluoride & Osteoarthritis

    While the osteoarthritic effects that occurred from fluoride exposure were once considered to be limited to those with skeletal fluorosis, recent research shows that fluoride can cause osteoarthritis in the absence of traditionally defined fluorosis. Conventional methods used for detecting skeletal fluorosis, therefore, will fail to detect the full range of people suffering from fluoride-induced osteoarthritis.

  • Fluoride in Water & Bone Fracture

    Current epidemiological evidence indicates that the margin of safety between the level of fluoride in water that does, and does not, increase the risk of fracture is insufficiently large to protect all members of society from fluoride-induced damage to bone.