Slow Growth in Childhood May Lead to Hip Fracture Later in Life

For Release at 5:30 pm EST, Sunday Oct. 29, 2000

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Slow Growth in Childhood May Lead to Hip Fracture Later in Life

An abnormally slow rate of growth during childhood may mean a greater chance of a hip fracture decades later, according to research presented at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting Oct. 29 ñ Nov. 2 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Researchers studied 7,000 men and women born in Helsinki in 1924ñ33. Detailed birth and child welfare records providing height and weight data from age 7 to 16 were matched with hospital records from 1971ñ97. Study subjects who had a childhood growth rate more than one standard deviation below average had more than four times the risk of future hip fracture.

"This study provides the first direct evidence that poor childhood growth is a strong risk factor for later hip fracture," said lead investigator Prof. Cyrus Cooper, MA, DM, of the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom. "Measures to enhance healthy childhood growth should be incorporated into preventive strategies against osteoporotic fracture in future generations."

The American College of Rheumatology is the professional organization for rheumatologists and health professionals who share a dedication to healing, preventing disability and curing arthritis and related rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases. For more information on the ACRís annual meeting, see www.rheumatology.org

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