Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of women with and without wrist fractures. Values are numbers (percentages) unless stated otherwise
| Wrist fractures | P value | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes (n=268) | No (n=5839) | ||
| Demographic characteristics | |||
| Mean (SD) age (years) | 71.15 (4.58) | 71.06 (4.89) | 0.772* |
| Education <12 years | 51 (19) | 1206 (20.7) | 0.520 |
| Mean (SD) body mass index | 26.02 (4.02) | 26.44 (4.37) | 0.122* |
| Mean (SD) functional status | 0.51 (1.19) | 0.76 (1.58) | 0.004† |
| Skeletal measures | |||
| Mean (SD) distal radius bone mineral density (g/cm2) | 0.33 (0.07) | 0.37 (0.08) | <0.001* |
| Lifestyle factors | |||
| Moderate or high intensity recreational physical activity at least monthly | 114 (43) | 2234 (38.3) | 0.159 |
| Mean (SD) alcohol drinks in previous 30 days | 1.70 (3.26) | 1.82 (3.71) | 0.636† |
| Current smoking | 21 (8) | 528 (9.0) | 0.499 |
| Health factors | |||
| Comorbidity: | |||
| Diabetes mellitus | 11 (4) | 383 (6.6) | 0.110 |
| Weight loss | 10 (4) | 297 (5.1) | 0.321 |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 22 (8) | 486 (8.3) | 0.947 |
| Cerebrovascular accident | 8 (3) | 155 (2.7) | 0.743 |
| Parkinson’s disease | 0 (0) | 28 (0.5) | 0.256 |
| Arthritis | 159 (59) | 3625 (62.1) | 0.364 |
| Poor cognition | 25 (9) | 484 (8.3) | 0.547 |
| Falls in previous year: | |||
| None | 176 (66) | 4224 (72.3) | <0.001 |
| One | 45 (17) | 1070 (18.3) | |
| Two or more | 47 (18) | 545 (9.3) | |
| Overall health: | |||
| Excellent | 119 (44) | 1929 (33.0) | 0.001 |
| Good | 126 (47) | 3061 (52.4) | |
| Fair | 22 (8) | 789 (13.5) | |
| Poor | 1 (0.4) | 56 (1.0) | |
| Very poor | 0 (0) | 4 (0.1) | |
| Oestrogen use: | |||
| Never | 179 (67) | 3253 (55.7) | <0.001 |
| Past | 70 (26) | 1685 (28.9) | |
| Current | 19 (7) | 901 (15.4) | |
| Neuromuscular measures | |||
| Abnormal depth perception | 38 (14) | 881 (15.1) | 0.684 |
| Visual acuity <20/40 | 210 (79) | 4786 (82.0) | 0.134 |
| Mean (SD) contrast sensitivity, low spatial frequency | 75.42 (34.79) | 75.86 (35.37) | 0.845* |
| Mean (SD) gait speed/stride length (m/s) | 1.04 (0.21) | 1.09 (0.21) | <0.001* |
| Mean (SD) grip strength | 21.56 (3.89) | 21.29 (4.20) | 0.296* |
| Mean (SD) maximum right knee extension (kg) | 18.68 (4.74) | 18.19 (5.06) | 0.126* |
| Mean (SD) hip abduction (kg) | 11.81 (3.05) | 11.23 (3.27) | 0.004* |
| Mean (SD) maximum triceps extension (kg) | 10.78 (2.42) | 10.77 (2.69) | 0.917* |
| Mean (SD) chair stand (s) | 5.498 (1) | 5.776 (1) | 0.006* |
| Mean (SD) foot tapping (s) | 4.68 (1.36) | 4.91 (1.74) | 0.079† |
| Uses arms to step up/step down | 12 (5) | 409 (7.0) | 0.110 |
*Non-parametric Wilcoxon rank sum test comparing medians of people with and without incident wrist fracture.
†Student’s t test comparing means of people with and without incident wrist fracture.