Absence of menopausal effect on hip fracture occurrence in white females.

The rate of hip fracture among White females rises sharply between ages 40 and 44 and then continues at a constant rate of acceleration doubling every five to six years throughout life with no deviation during, or in the years immediately following, menopause. We suggest that the important role of sex hormones and other factors in osteoporosis commences prior to menopause. A premenopause prevention strategy which postpones the onset of the osteoporotic process by five or six years would be expected to reduce the risk of hip fracture by 50 per cent throughout the remainder of a woman's life.