FUNCTIONAL IMPAIRMENTS AND DYSMOBILITY SYNDROME IN PATIENTS WITH PREVALENT FRAGILITY FRACTURES: A RETROSPECTIVE CASE-CONTROL STUDY

Background. Osteoporotic fractures are burdensome on the healthcare management of older people and are associated to impaired bone strength, muscle weakness, and falls. Recently two new concepts have been proposed to identify functional impairments: the dysmobility syndrome and the skeletal muscle function deficit (SMFD). The aim of this study was to investigate the role of fragility fractures as risk factor for dysmobility syndrome and/or SMFD in post-menopausal women. Material and Methods In this retrospective case-control study we examined data from the medical records of post-menopausal women. Cases were represented by women who had had a fragility fracture at least a year before the evaluation and controls were women without any fragility fracture. In our population, we identified the presence of dysmobility syndrome, dynapenic SMFD, sarcopenic SMFD, and mixed SMFD, according to the criteria proposed by Studenski and Binkley respectively. Results In our population of 121 post-menopausal women, 77 women (63.6%) had already sustained an osteoporotic fracture. The risk for dysmobility syndrome was significantly higher (adjusted OR for age and serum 25-OH vitamin D3 of 2.46) in the cases compared with the controls. Conclusion Early diagnosis of conditions limiting mobility, including dysmobility syndrome, in patients with a history of fragility fractures might be useful to identify those who have a higher risk of new fractures.