Pathophysiology Report: Alcohol Consumption and Hip Fracture in Women

This report analyzes the study by Kubo et al. (2013) which investigates the U-shaped relationship between alcohol consumption and hip fracture risk in post-menopausal women. The study, using a longitudinal cohort design, found that light-moderate drinkers had a lower risk of hip fracture compared to non-drinkers and heavy drinkers. The report highlights the key findings, including the association between wine preference and reduced fracture risk. It also discusses the strengths of the research, such as the use of a strong research design and adjustment for confounding factors like physical activity. However, it also points out limitations like the lack of bone mineral density data. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the study's methodology, results, and implications, offering valuable insights into the complex relationship between alcohol consumption and bone health.

Running head: PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
Pathophysiology
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1PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
U-shaped relationship with alcohol and hip fracture:
The article by Kubo et al. (2013) discusses about the U-shaped relationship with
alcohol and hip fracture which involves elevated risk of hip fracture in non-drinkers and
heavy drinkers compared to light-moderate drinkers
Key findings of the article:
By the use of longitudinal cohort study design, Kubo et al. (2013) aimed to examine
the relationship between alcohol consumption and hip fracture risk with a focus on types of
alcohol consumed. By observing drinking habits in post menopausal women, the key findings
were that mean alcohol consumption per week was 3.3 servings and alcohol preferences
among sample group was strongly associated with high fracture risk. In addition, the findings
based on types of alcohol consumed revealed that women who preferred wine had low risk of
fracture compared to other types of drinkers.
Strength and limitations of the research article:
The strength of the article is the use of strong research design and the consideration of
important confounding factors in the relationship. The researcher adjusted for confounding
factors like physical activity and falls and this has enhanced the validity of the work and
eliminated risk of bias. Such data are reliable too. In addition, the sample size of the study is
appropriate too because as the research was done with large population of multi ethnic cohort
group, it reduced any validity issues (Heale & Twycross, 2015). However, one limitation of
the study was that it did not considered other important variables such as bone mineral
density data that could determine true nature of relationship between alcohol consumption
and hip fracture risk.

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References:
Heale, R., & Twycross, A. (2015). Validity and reliability in quantitative studies. Evidence-
based nursing, 18(3), 66-67.
Kubo, J. T., Stefanick, M. L., Robbins, J., Wactawski-Wende, J., Cullen, M. R., Freiberg, M.,
& Desai, M. (2013). Preference for wine is associated with lower hip fracture
incidence in post-menopausal women. BMC women's health, 13(1), 36.