More than osteoporosis: Age-specific issues in bone health

Purpose of review The interaction between fall and fracture risk factors is an area of increasing clinical relevance, but little information is known about the age-specific issues in bone health unique to HIV-infected adults. The present review will focus on what is known about falls and fall risk factors among HIV-infected adults, and then review the association between decreased muscle, increased adiposity, and frailty with both low bone mineral density (BMD) and falls. Recent findings The rate of falls among middle-aged HIV-infected adults is similar to that of HIV-uninfected adults 65 years and older. Many of the clinical factors that contribute to low BMD overlap with risk factors for falls, resulting in a high risk of a serious fall among older adults with the greatest risk for a fracture. Low muscle mass, increased adiposity and metabolic syndrome, physical function impairment and frailty, common among older HIV-infected adults, contribute to an increased risk for low BMD and falls, and subsequently, may increase the risk of fracture among HIV-infected older adults. Summary Interventions with dual benefit on reducing fall risk and improving BMD are likely to have the greatest impact on fracture prevention in the older, HIV-infected adult.