Changes in body composition, including a decrease in muscle and bone mass, accompany aging. Our aim was to assess the prevalence of sarcopenia and its association with osteoporosis in hip-fracture women. We performed a Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DXA) scan in 313 of 340 women, 20.9 ± 6.5 (mean ± S.D.) days after hip-fracture occurrence. To adjust appendicular lean mass for body size we divided it by height squared in each woman. A total of 180 of the 313 women (58%) were sarcopenic, whereas 230 (74%) were osteoporotic. After adjustment for age and interval between fracture and DXA scan we found a significant association between sarcopenia and osteoporosis (p=0.026). For a sarcopenic woman the adjusted odds ratio (OR) for osteoporosis was 1.80 (95%CI=1.07-3.02). Our data shows the high prevalence of sarcopenia and its significant association with osteoporosis in a large sample of hip-fracture women. Data supports a research approach on preventive and treatment strategies for osteoporosis and sarcopenia targeting both bone and muscle tissue. Furthermore, data should be considered when the economic burden of sarcopenia is estimated, given the high proportion of sarcopenic women with bone fragility.
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