OBJECTIVES Fluoridation of drinking water is known to decrease dental caries, particularly in children. However, the effects of fluoridated water on bone over several decades are still in controversy. To assess the risk of hip fracture related to water fluoridation, we evaluated the hip fracture-related hospitalizations of the elderly between a fluoridated city and non-fluoridated cities in Korea. METHODS: Cheongju as a fluoridated area and Chungju, Chuncheon, Suwon, Wonju as non-fluoridated areas were chosen for the study. We established a database of hip fracture hospitalization episode based on the claims data submitted to the Health Insurance Review Agency from January 1995 to December 2002. The hip fracture hospitalization episodes that satisfied the conditions were those that occurred in patients over 65 years old, the injuries had a hip fracture code (ICD-9 820, ICD-10 S72) and the patients were hospitalized for at least 7days. A total of 80,558 cases of hip fracture hospitalization episodes were analyzed. RESULTS: The admission rates for hip fracture increased with the age of the men and women in both a fluoridated city and the non-fluoridated cities (p<0.01). The relative risk of hip fracture increased significantly both for men and women as their age increased. However, any difference in the hip fracture admission rates was not consistently observed between the fluoridated city and the nonfluoridated cities. CONCLUSIONS: We cannot conclude that fluoridation of drinking water increases the risk of hip fracture in the elderly.
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The Association between Community Water Fluoridation and Bone Diseases: A Natural Experiment in Cheongju, Korea Naae Lee, Sungchan Kang, Woojoo Lee, Seung-sik Hwang International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2020; 17(24): 9170. CrossRef
Community water fluoridation and health outcomes in England: a crossâsectional study Nicholas Young, John Newton, John Morris, Joan Morris, John Langford, Jonathan Iloya, Diane Edwards, Semina Makhani, Julia Verne Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology.2015; 43(6): 550. CrossRef
Exposure to Fluoride in Drinking Water and Hip Fracture Risk: A Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies Xin-Hai Yin, Guang-Lei Huang, Du-Ren Lin, Cheng-Cheng Wan, Ya-Dong Wang, Ju-Kun Song, Ping Xu, Yi-Hsiang Hsu PLOS ONE.2015; 10(5): e0126488. CrossRef
Effects of Life-long Fluoride Intake on Bone Measures of Adolescents S.M. Levy, J.J. Warren, K. Phipps, E. Letuchy, B. Broffitt, J. Eichenberger-Gilmore, T.L. Burns, G. Kavand, K.F. Janz, J.C. Torner, C.A. Pauley Journal of Dental Research.2014; 93(4): 353. CrossRef
OBJECTIVE To evaluate the relationship between physical activity and the risk of hip fracture in the elderly Korean people. METHODS: The study population was a Physical Activity Subcohort (n=8,908) extracted from the Korean Elderly Pharmacoepidemiological Cohort (KEPEC). Physical activity information was obtained from a mailed questionnaire surveys. The outcome data was collected from claims data gathered between Jan. 1993 and Dec. 1998. A hospital survey relating to potential cases was conducted to confirm the final diagnoses. The abstracted data was reviewed by a medical doctor before the final diagnoses were confirmed. A mailing questionnaire survey was performed to obtain information on potentially confounding variables, including alcohol intake, smoking habits, weight, height and postmenopausal duration. There were 79 confirmed cases hospitalized due to hip fractures between Jan. 1993 and Dec. 1998. Relative risk of physical activity scores on the hip fracture, and their 95% confidence intervals, were estimated by a Cox's proportional hazard model using SAS for Windows ver. 6.12. RESUJLTS: Compared to the reference group, the adjusted relative risk of hip fracture associated with the most physical active category; after controlling for age, weight and alcohol intake in the males, and for weight, alcohol intake and postmenopausal duration in the females, were 1.04 (95% CI=0.35-3.06) and 0.44 (95% CI=0.26-0.77), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Physical activity may protect elderly women from hip fracture.
OBJECTIVES The reproductive history of women has been suggested to have a possible influence on the risk of osteoporotic fractures. The purpose of this study was to assess the association between reproductive history and hip fractures in the elderly women. METHODS: The study subjects were drawn from women members of the Korean Elderly Pharmacoepidemiologic Cohort (KEPEC), aged 65 years or over, whose reproductive histories were available, and who were beneficiaries of the Korea Medical Insurance Corporation (KMIC) in 1993 and lived in Busan city, Korea. The information on reproductive histories, and possible confounders, were collected from mailed questionnaires. Potential hip fracture cases were collected from the claims data obtained between 1993 and 1998, with a hospital survey conducted to confirm the final diagnoses. Rate ratios and their 95% confidence intervals, were calculated using a Cox's proportional hazard model. RESUJLTS: Following up 5,219 women for 6 years, 51 cases were confirmed with hip fractures. When adjusted for age, weight and physical activity, the rate ratio of hip fractures in women who had given birth three or more times was 0.56 (95% CI: 0.25 - 1.25), compared with those who had given birth two or less times. When adjusted for age, number of births, weight and physical activity, the rate ratio in women who first gave birth when younger than 22 years was 0.60 (95% CI: 0.34 - 1.08) compared with those who had giving birth at 22 years or older. CONCLUSIONS: According to these findings, an early age when first giving birth might decrease the risk of hip fractures in elderly Korean women.