Poster Presentation Australian and New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine Annual Scientific Meeting 2026

Femoral bone cortical thickness (FBCT) in hip fracture (HF) patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): effect of comorbidities (#288)

Htoo Myat 1 2 , Kavya E Baby 1 3 , Wichat Srikusalanukul 1 , Alex Fisher 1 4
  1. Department of Geriatric Medicine, The Canberra Hospital, Canberra, ACT, Australia
  2. Department of Medicine, The Maitland Hospital, Metford, NSW, Australia
  3. Department of Palliative Care, The Canberra Hospital, Canberra, ACT, Australia
  4. Australian National University Medical School, Canberra, ACT, Australia

Aims: Multimorbidity is common among chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients and osteoporosis is a significant complication which is often undiagnosed until fracture occurs1-2. Bone mineral density and fracture risk assessment tools includes 4 comorbid and lifestyle characteristics, therefore do not reflect multimorbidity, seen in COPD patients3-8. Femoral bone cortical thickness (FBCT) is a new tool to assess skeletal status9. This study aims to assess the effect of comorbidities on FBCT in hip fracture (HF) patients with COPD.

Methods: FBCT was measured in 426 HF patients (mean age 80.5 years) and 106 healthy controls (mean age 32.0 years) at 3 cm and 10 cm. Data were correlated with 19 comorbid and lifestyle characteristics and bone turnover markers.

Results: In HF patients, FBCT was significantly lower than controls (all p <0.005) at both levels. Low FBCT was found in 79% of males and 67% of females with COPD and HF. The proportion of patients with low FBCT increased in parallel with the number of comorbidities; in males: 7.7% (no comorbidities) to 44.3% (with ≥3 comorbidities) and in females: 3.7% to 36.3%, respectively. The lowest FBCT demonstrated in males with stroke (85.7%), walking aids users (81.3%) and anaemia (80.0%); in females, transient ischaemic attack (86.4%), stroke (77.1%) and excessive alcohol used (77.8%). Bone turnover markers have significantly, however weakly associated with FBCT.

Conclusions: This study highlights the impact of comorbidities on FBCT in HF patients with COPD, underscoring the importance of routine osteoporosis screening in COPD patients, particularly those with multiple comorbidities.