(HealthDay News) — Older adults with a history of cancer have an increased risk for frailty-related bone fracture, according to a study published in JAMA Oncology.
Researchers conducted a longitudinal cohort study using data from 92,431 older adults in the US Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort linked with Medicare claims from 1999 to 2017 to examine the association between cancer diagnoses and risks for pelvic, radial, and vertebral fractures.
A total of 12,943 patients experienced a frailty-related bone fracture. The researchers found that cancer survivors who were diagnosed 1 to less than 5 years earlier with advanced-stage cancer had a higher risk for fracture compared with patients without a history of cancer.
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For cancer survivors with a recent advanced-stage diagnosis, the higher fracture risk was mainly due to vertebral and pelvic fracture sites.
Cancer survivors who received chemotherapy were more likely to have a fracture than those who did not receive chemotherapy. This association was stronger within 5 years of diagnosis.
Physically active cancer survivors 5 years or more after diagnosis had a lower hazard ratio for risk for fracture, but the association was not statistically significant. Current smoking was significantly linked to an increased risk of fracture.
“If findings from this study are replicated, fracture prevention programs for survivors might include referrals for physical activity with cancer exercise professionals and for smoking cessation programs,” the authors wrote.
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