Biomaterial Database

Factors associated with Colles' fracture in the elderly. 1991

N Y Haboubi, and P R Hudson

Department of Medicine for the Elderly, Maelor Hospital, Wrexham, Clwyd, UK.

We have measured sway, hearing and eyesight in a group of elderly patients with Colles' fracture (3 males, 21 females, mean age 75.9 years) and in a control group of elderly fallers (5 males, 19 females, mean age 76.9 years) who had no fractures. The Colles' fracture group had better eyesight than the control group (p = 0.022), but worse hearing, particularly at lower frequencies (p less than 0.0001 at 500 Hz), suggesting a conductive hearing loss. We conclude that those individuals with better eyesight would try to stretch their arm to break a fall, so breaking their wrist. Osteoporotic changes in the auditory ossicles is proposed as a possible cause for the hearing loss in the Colles' fracture group. We conclude that those individuals presenting with Colles' fracture may also have hearing loss and conversely, patients presenting with a conductive hearing loss may be at risk of developing the further symptoms of osteoporosis.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D012016	Reference Values	The range or frequency distribution of a measurement in a population (of organisms, organs or things) that has not been selected for the presence of disease or abnormality.	Normal Range,Normal Values,Reference Ranges,Normal Ranges,Normal Value,Range, Normal,Range, Reference,Ranges, Normal,Ranges, Reference,Reference Range,Reference Value,Value, Normal,Value, Reference,Values, Normal,Values, Reference
D003100	Colles' Fracture	Fracture of the lower end of the radius in which the lower fragment is displaced posteriorly.	Colles Fracture,Fracture, Colles'
D005260	Female		Females
D006311	Hearing Disorders	Conditions that impair the transmission of auditory impulses and information from the level of the ear to the temporal cortices, including the sensorineural pathways.	Distorted Hearing,Dysacusis,Paracousis,Paracusis,Hearing Disorder,Hearing, Distorted
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000058	Accidental Falls	Falls due to slipping or tripping which may result in injury.	Falls, Accidental,Falling,Falls,Slip and Fall,Accidental Fall,Fall and Slip,Fall, Accidental
D000368	Aged	A person 65 years of age or older. For a person older than 79 years, AGED, 80 AND OVER is available.	Elderly
D014786	Vision Disorders	Visual impairments limiting one or more of the basic functions of the eye: visual acuity, dark adaptation, color vision, or peripheral vision. These may result from EYE DISEASES; OPTIC NERVE DISEASES; VISUAL PATHWAY diseases; OCCIPITAL LOBE diseases; OCULAR MOTILITY DISORDERS; and other conditions (From Newell, Ophthalmology: Principles and Concepts, 7th ed, p132).	Hemeralopia,Macropsia,Micropsia,Day Blindness,Metamorphopsia,Vision Disability,Visual Disorders,Visual Impairment,Blindness, Day,Disabilities, Vision,Disability, Vision,Disorder, Visual,Disorders, Visual,Hemeralopias,Impairment, Visual,Impairments, Visual,Macropsias,Metamorphopsias,Micropsias,Vision Disabilities,Vision Disorder,Visual Disorder,Visual Impairments