Low body weight as a risk factor for hip fracture in both black and white women.

A lower incidence of hip fracture in black women has been reported by several studies. The most frequently proposed explanations for this phenomenon have included a genetically greater bone mass, better preservation of bone due to the fact that certain populations of black women perform more physical labor, and the impact of other unidentified environmental and/or lifestyle factors. This retrospective study demonstrates that low body weight is as significant a risk factor for hip fracture in black women as it is in white women. Coupled with the known higher prevalence of obesity in the older black female population, the findings of this study suggest that differences in body weight may be a significant and possibly sufficient explanation for the lower incidence of hip fracture in black women.