The association between alcohol consumption and risk of hip fracture differs by age and gender in Cohort of Norway: a NOREPOS study

Abstract

Summary: The association between alcohol consumption and hip fracture differed by gender: Men aged 30–59 years drinking frequently or 14+ gl/week had higher risk than moderate drinkers. No significant association was seen in older men. Women not drinking alcohol had higher risk than those drinking moderately both regarding frequency and amount. Introduction: We aimed to examine alcohol consumption and risk of hip fracture according to age and gender in the population-based Cohort of Norway (1994–2003). Methods: Socio-demographics, lifestyle, and health were self-reported and weight and height were measured in 70,568 men and 71,357 women ≥ 30 years. Information on subsequent hip fractures was retrieved from hospitals’ electronic patient registries during 1994–2013. Frequency of alcohol consumption was categorized: never/seldom, moderate (≤ 2–3 times/week), or frequent (≥ 4 times/week), and amount as number of glasses per week: 0, 1–6, 7–13, 14–27, and 28+. Type of alcohol (wine vs. beer/hard liquor) was also examined. Cox’s proportional hazards regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) stratified on gender and baseline age < 60 and ≥ 60 years. Results: During median 15-year follow-up, 1558 men and 2511 women suffered a hip fracture. Using moderate drinkers as reference, men < 60 years drinking frequently had multivariable adjusted HR = 1.73 (CI 1.02–2.96) for hip fracture and more than 2.5 times higher risk if they consumed 14+ glasses compared to 1–6 glasses per week. In other groups of age and gender, no statistically significant increased risk was found in those consuming the highest levels of alcohol. Compared to women with moderate or frequent alcohol use, never/seldom-drinking women had the highest fracture risk. In women, use of wine was associated with lower fracture risk than other types of alcohol. Conclusions: Risk of hip fracture was highest in men < 60 years with the highest frequency and amount of alcohol consumption and in non-drinking women.