Hip fracture affected by obesity and fat

Australian researchers have demonstrated a strong association between the FTO (fat and obesity) gene and hip fracture in women. While the gene is already well known to affect diabetes and body fat, this is the first study to show that its high-risk variant can increase the risk of hip fracture by as much as 82%. The study, undertaken by Dr Bich Tran and Professor Tuan Nguyen from Sydney's Garvan Institute of Medical Research, examined six gene variants (single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs) of the FTO gene, taken from the DNA of 934 women in the Dubbo Osteoporosis Epidemiology Study (DOES). The women were all over 60, and their bone health was followed between 1989 and 2007. During that period, 102 women had hip fractures. This study is published in Clinical Endocrinology. “Our results showed a strong association with hip fracture, with some gene variants doubling the risk of fracture. Interestingly, this was independent of both the bone density and BMI of the women we studied. It's important to emphasize that, while promising, our finding is a first step. It will need to be replicated in other studies, and its mechanisms clearly understood before it is useful in drug development”.