Acreditava-se que pessoas obesas estavam protegidas contra fraturas. No entanto, um estudo realizado no Reino Unido (2010) encontrou uma proporção surpreendentemente alta de obesidade entre as mulheres na pós-menopausa que se consultaram em uma Clínica de Fraturas Ósseas. Da mesma maneira, o estudo GLOW (2011) observou prevalência e incidência semelhantes de fraturas em mulheres na pós-menopausa obesas e não obesas. Posteriormente, vários outros estudos têm demonstrado a importância da obesidade na epidemiologia de fraturas. Mulheres obesas têm maior risco de fratura no tornozelo, na perna, no úmero e na coluna vertebral e têm menor risco de fratura de punho, quadril e pelve quando comparadas às mulheres não obesas. A associação entre fraturas múltiplas de costelas e obesidade foi descrita em homens. Além disso, as quedas parecem desempenhar um papel importante na patogênese de fraturas em pacientes obesos. O algoritmo FRAX parece ser uma ferramenta útil na predição do risco de fraturas em indivíduos obesos. Indivíduos obesos são menos propensos a receber tratamento preventivo para as fraturas ósseas e, quando sofrem uma fratura óssea, sua internação costuma ser mais longa do que a internação de indivíduos magros. A qualidade de vida dos indivíduos obesos é menor antes e depois da fratura. Não obstante, a eficácia de terapias antirreabsorção não está bem estabelecida em pessoas obesas. Este último é um campo para pesquisas futuras.

Until recently obesity was believed to be protective against fractures. However, a report from a Fracture Liaison Clinic in the UK (2010) reported a surprisingly high proportion of obese postmenopausal women attending the clinic with fractures, and in the GLOW study (2011), a similar prevalence and incidence of fractures in obese and non-obese postmenopausal women was observed. Subsequently, other studies have demonstrated the importance of obesity in the epidemiology of fractures. Obese women are at increased risk of fracture in ankle, leg, humerus, and vertebral column and at lower risk of wrist, hip and pelvis fracture when compared to non-obese women. In men, it has been reported that multiple rib fractures are associated with obesity. Furthermore, falls appear to play an important role in the pathogenesis of fractures in obese subjects. Regarding hip fracture and major fractures, the FRAX algorithm has proven to be a useful predictor in obese individuals. Obese people are less likely to receive bone protective treatment; they have a longer hospital stay and a lower quality of life both before and after fracture. Moreover, the efficacy of antiresorptive therapies is not well established in obese people. The latter is a field for future research.

OBJECTIVE: Hip fractures have been associated with increased mortality in the elderly. Several risk factors such as the time between the insult and the surgical repair have been associated with hip fracture mortality. Nevertheless, the risk of delayed surgical repair remains controversial. Few studies have examined this issue in Brazil. The aim of this study was to study the risk factors for death one year after hip fracture and in-hospital stay at a tertiary hospital in South Brazil. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was carried out from April 2005 to April 2011 at a tertiary university hospital at Santa Maria, Brazil. Subjects admitted for hip fracture who were 65 years of age or older were followed for one year. Information about fracture type, age, gender, clinical comorbidities, time to surgery, discharge, and American Society of Anesthesiologists score were recorded. Death was evaluated during the hospital stay and at one year. RESULTS: Four hundred and eighteen subjects were included in the final analysis. Of these, 4.3% died in-hospital and 15.3% were dead at one year. Time to surgery, American Society of Anesthesiologists score, Ischemic Heart Disease, and in-hospital stay were associated with death at one year in the univariate analysis. The American Society of Anesthesiologists score and time to surgery were one-year mortality predictors in the final regression model. In-hospital death was associated with American Society of Anesthesiologists score and age. CONCLUSION: Time to surgery is worryingly high at the South Brazil tertiary public health center studied here. Surgical delay is a risk factor that has the potential to be modified to improve mortality.

A pré-vitamina D é produzida na pele, onde, através de foto-reação mediada pela luz solar, isomeriza-se em vitamina D. É metabolizada no fígado em 25-hidroxivitamina D. Esta é o substrato para a formação do verdadeiro hormônio, a 1,25-dihidroxivitamina D, que ocorre sob a influência do cálcio sérico e do hormônio da paratireóide. Receptores nucleares mediam suas funções principais. A doença causada pela deficiência de vitamina D em indivíduos adultos se estabelece de forma sutil, com hipocalcemia leve, hiperparatireoidismo reacional, gerando perda do osso trabecular e estreitamento do osso cortical, o que leva a um risco aumentado de fraturas. Essa doença é muito prevalente na Europa, África, América do Norte e alguns países da América do Sul, como Chile e Argentina. O padrão-ouro para o diagnóstico de hipovitaminose D é a dosagem de 25-hidroxivitamina D no soro, e valores abaixo de 50 nmol/L seriam suficientes para causar aumento na concentração sérica do hormônio da paratireóide e perda óssea. Fatores de risco para esta doença são pouca exposição à luz solar, envelhecimento da pele e doenças que alteram o metabolismo da vitamina D. Seu tratamento é feito através da reposição oral de vitamina D, o que o torna fácil e barato.

Vitamin D is synthesized in skin through a reaction mediated by sunlight, and it is metabolized to 25-hydroxyvitamin D, in liver, and in 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, in kidney. This last reaction has a tight feedback mechanism. 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D is the active hormone, and its actions are mediated mainly by nuclear receptors. Its major functions are in calcium metabolism and bone mass maintenance. Hypovitaminosis D, as a disease in adult people, manifests itself with hypocalcemia and secondary hyperparathyroidism with subsequent loss of trabecular bone, thinning of cortical bone, and, eventually, a higher risk of fractures. Hypovitaminosis D is a very common condition in Europe, Africa, North America and some South American countries, such as Chile and Argentina. Measurement of serum total 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration is the gold standard to diagnose vitamin D deficiency. Serum concentrations below 50 nmol/L are associated with an increase in parathyroid hormone concentration, and bone loss. Risk factors for vitamin D deficiency, like poor sunlight exposition, aging skin and factors that interfere with normal vitamin D metabolism, are well established. Oral vitamin D supplementation, an easy and inexpensive treatment, is needed to treat this illness.