U.S. Black Women Have Fewer Bone Fractures

CHICAGO — Older black women in the United States suffer fewer hip and neck fractures than their white counterparts, probably because blacks tend to have stronger bones to start with, researchers said Tuesday.

In what they called the first major study of racial differences in the brittle-bone disease osteoporosis, the researchers said black women older than 64 were found to have a 30 percent to 40 percent lower risk of bone fractures compared with comparably aged whites.

The lower risk prevailed no matter the level of bone density, which is a measure of how far osteoporosis has progressed, the report said. However, black women have a higher mortality rate than whites once they contract osteoporosis, making diagnosis and treatment essential, it said.

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Among 636 black women, 58 developed fractures, or 9 percent. Among 7,334 white women, 1,606 fractured bones, or 21 percent.

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