Using data for 3,108 older women in the Fracture Intervention Trial (FIT), we sought to determine whether angle of kyphosis, independent of spinal osteoporosis

and other factors, is associated with mobility as measured by performance times on the Timed Up and Go, an objective test used to identify people at risk for future falls, and to quantify the effects of other factors contributing selleck chemical to impaired mobility. Methods Overview The FIT was a randomized, controlled multicenter trial among 6,459 women with osteopenia or osteoporosis who were randomized to alendronate or placebo to test the efficacy of alendronate for reduction of risk of osteoporotic fractures [28]. Women randomized to the placebo arm of FIT, including women with and without vertebral fracture, were Idasanutlin mouse included in these analyses SAHA research buy [29]. Subjects Women included in FIT were required to be 55-80 years of age, post-menopausal for at least 2 years, live independently in the community, and have a bone mineral density (BMD) of the femoral neck 1.6 or more standard deviations (SD) below peak premenopausal femoral neck BMD (less than 0.68 g/cm2). Of the 3,223 women in the placebo arm of FIT 3,108 women with complete data were included in our analyses. By design, one third of the women randomized to

the placebo arm of the study had prevalent fractures at baseline. Measurements All participants had measurements of kyphosis, mobility, height, weight, BMD of the hip, grip strength, and vertebral fractures at baseline visits in 1993. Basic demographic characteristics included age and smoking status, classified as never smoked, previous smoker, or current smoker. Kyphosis angle was measured using a Debrunner Kyphometer (Proteck AG, Bern, Switzerland), a protractor-like instrument. The arms of the device are placed over the spinous process of C7 superiorly and T12 inferiorly [15]. This measurement of

kyphosis angle has excellent reliability and repeatability (intra-rater and inter-rater correlation coefficients both 0.91, and coefficient of variation for repeated measurements = 8.4%) [30]. The Timed Up and Go is a widely used clinical tool for detecting mobility impairments in older adults. This test measures the time to rise from a 48 cm height armchair, walk 3 m, turn and return to a fully seated position in the chair [31]. Montelukast Sodium This test has excellent reliability (ICC 0.91-0.96) [32], and times ≥12 s have high sensitivity and specificity for identifying elderly individuals at risk for mobility impairments and falls [32, 33]. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated from the height and weight measurements using a standard formula weight (kg)/[height (m)]2. Bone mineral density was measured using the QDR 2000 (Hologic, Inc., Waltham, MA, USA). Quality control measures have been detailed elsewhere [34]. Grip strength was measured with a handheld dynamometer according to standardized protocol.