Hip fracture is a costly effect of osteoporosis The longer the time between a woman's first period and the onset of menopause, the better her chances of surviving a broken hip, a study has found. Having children later in life and being overweight also appear to cut the risk of death as the result of a fracture.
Broken hips are a common symptom of osteoporosis, or brittle bone disease.
Most women who sustain a hip fracture survive, but sometimes death can occur as a result. Age when having a first child could be a factor Researchers in Norway sought to investigate the impact a woman's reproductive variables, such as age when her periods start, age when she first has a child and age at which the menopause started, on deaths from hip fractures. They studied 63,000 women over a period of 29 years. Many of the women included in the study would have broken their hip at some stage. Those whose first period was separated from their menopause by less than 30 years were twice as likely to die from the fracture than those with 38 years or more between the two.