Who is at Risk for a Spinal Fracture? – A Comparative Study of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Data

A bone mineral density (BMD) test involves the process of measuring one’s bone strength, which helps predict the chances of getting a spinal fracture. In this study, we examined how BMD may be associated with risk factors such as alcohol consumption, body mass index (BMI), milk consumption and age. We were also interested in whether gender is associated with the chances of suffering from a spinal fracture. We analyzed the data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2007-2008 (NHANES 2007-2008). Our studies suggested that the results for men and women were quite similar for BMD and milk consumption but not for age and alcohol consumption. As men aged, the probability of getting a spinal fracture decreased, while for women, it increased considerably. For alcohol consumption, the higher intake of alcohol increased the chance of a spinal fracture for men, while for women, it decreased the chance of a spinal fracture. For both men and women, a higher BMI resulted in a higher BMD, which reduced the risk of a spinal fracture. The same occurred between men and women with milk consumption.