Reduction only significant at the femoral neck of the amputated limb of amputees; greater reduction seen for above-the-knee amputees<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
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THURSDAY, May 18, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Individuals with combat-related traumatic injury (CRTI) have lower femoral neck bone mineral density (BMD), with this reduction significant only at the femoral neck of the amputated limb of amputees, according to a study published online May 17 in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research<\/em>.<\/p>\n Louise McMenemy, from the Centre for Blast Injury Studies at Imperial College London, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional analysis of the first phase of a cohort study, including 575 male adult U.K. military personnel with CRTI, including 153 lower-limb amputees, who were frequency-matched to 562 uninjured men. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scanning of the hips and lumbar spine was conducted to assess BMD.<\/p>\n The researchers found that the CRTI group had lower femoral neck BMD than the uninjured group (T-score, \u00e2\u0088\u00920.08 versus \u00e2\u0088\u00920.42). This reduction was significant only at the femoral neck of the amputated limb of amputees in a subgroup analysis, with a greater reduction noted for above-the-knee than below-the-knee amputees. No differences were seen between amputees and controls in spine BMD or activity levels.<\/p>\n “We need to investigate the role of prosthetics and exercise in reversing bone mineral density loss to reduce the longer-term risk of hip fracture,” a coauthor said in a statement. “Because systemic treatments like bisphosphonates are not indicated in this young population with bone mineral density loss, it is important to understand other ways to reduce their hip fracture risk.”<\/p>\n