Smoking and alcohol abuse as risk factors causing low-energy fractures in males suffering from primary osteoporosis

• Published in: Analiz riska zdorovʹi͡u no. 2; pp. 126 - 134
• Main Authors: Rodionova, S.S., Khakimov, U.R., Morozov, A.K., Krivova, A.V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: FBSI “Federal Scientific Center for Medical and Preventive Health Risk Management Technologies” 01.06.2020
• Subjects: alcohol abuse; an increase in morbidity with osteoporosis; fractures of the proximal section in the thigh bone; fractures of vertebral bodies; primary osteoporosis in men; risk factors of fractures; smoking
• ISSN: 2308-1155; 2542-2308; 2308-1163
• DOI: 10.21668/health.risk/2020.2.14.eng

Osteoporosis is a persistent social and medical issue taking into account moral and material losses related to bone fractures occurring against its background. The disease is more frequently examined in women than in men; still, according to EVOS (European Spinal Osteoporosis Study) 13.5% men older than 50 and 26% men older than 60 run high risks of fractures in case they have osteoporosis. Risk factors that cause both the disease itself and fractures as its complications have not been examined profoundly, even though men run 1.6 times higher risk of death after a fracture than women. There is an assumption that a reason for this higher mortality is lack of knowledge about risk factors that cause the disease and a fracture as one of its complications. Growing morbidity with osteoporosis among men indicates it is necessary to perform activities aimed at persuading them to pursue healthy lifestyle. Given that, it seems important to assess impacts exerted by smoking and alcohol abuse on risks of fractures among patients with primary osteoporosis bearing in mind prevention of the disease and fractures as its complications. We examined a relation between smoking and alcohol abuse and risks of fractures as osteoporosis markers in 231 patients suffering from primary osteoporosis. We revealed that fractures were authentically more frequent among smoking patients, 90.5% against 68.1% (р˂0.001). It was primarily true for fractures of the proximal section in the thigh bone and fractures of vertebral bodies: 20.2% against 8.8% and 44.1% against 27.3% accordingly. Alcohol abuse also resulted in authentically higher risks of fractures, 89.8% against 66.2% accordingly (р˂0.001). Authentic discrepancies were detected only for fractures of vertebral bodies, 43.9% against 23.6% accordingly among those who didn’t abuse alcohol (р˂0.001). Therefore, we have evidence that there is an authentic relation between smoking and alcohol abuse and risks of fractures of the proximal section in the thigh bone and vertebral bodies. Inclusion of our research results into educational programs may lead to a reduction in frequency of fractures that have the gravest outcomes for health and cause the highest economic losses.