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High-sensitivity C-reactive protein and risk of nontraumatic fractures in the Bruneck study
Schett G, Kiechl S, Weger S, Pederiva A, Mayr A, Petrangeli M, Oberhollenzer F, Lorenzini R et al.. Archives of internal medicine, 2006-12-01
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Background Chronic inflammatory diseases are associated with bone loss and an enhanced fracture risk. It is unknown, however, whether low-grade inflammation in healthy individuals, as estimated by the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) level, interferes with bone metabolism and affects the risk of nontraumatic fractures. Methods Lifetime bone fractures were carefully recorded in the cohort of the population-based Bruneck Study (n = 919) along with information on the date of occurrence and associated circumstances. The serum level of hs-CRP was measured from blood samples collected during the 1990 baseline examination and the 1995, 2000, and 2005 follow-up examinations. In addition, lifestyle and demographic characteristics, bone ultrasonographic data at the heel, and variables of bone metabolism were assessed. Results Between September 1, 1990, and August 31, 2005, 69 subjects experienced nontraumatic hip or vertebral fractures. The incidence of nontraumatic fractures was 1.3, 3.8, and 13.9 per 1000 person-years in the tertile groups for hs-CRP. In multivariate pooled logistic regression analysis, the adjusted relative risk (95% confidence interval) of nontraumatic fracture in the highest vs lowest tertile group for hs-CRP was 9.4 (3.6-24.8) (P Conclusions The hs-CRP level is a significant and independent risk predictor of nontraumatic fracture. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis of a tight interplay between low-grade inflammation and bone turnover.
Key findings
- Background Chronic inflammatory diseases are associated with bone loss and an enhanced fracture risk.
- Results Between September 1, 1990, and August 31, 2005, 69 subjects experienced nontraumatic hip or vertebral fractures.
- In multivariate pooled logistic regression analysis, the adjusted relative risk (95% confidence interval) of nontraumatic fracture in the highest vs lowest tertile group for hs-CRP was 9.4 (3.6-24.8) (P < .001).
Why it matters
This study found that high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level was a significant and independent risk predictor of nontraumatic fracture in the Bruneck cohort. It does not address dementia, cognition, or Alzheimer's disease, so it provides no information on treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Participants919
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 51/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Archives of internal medicine) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Archives of Internal Medicine: journal h-index 462 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2006 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 919 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 228 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 10.4 citations a year over 22 year(s) since 2006 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 9.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 1 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 18 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Georg Andreas Schett: h-index 157 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg: institution h-index 901 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 17159016) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 51 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Schett, G., Kiechl, S., Weger, S., Pederiva, A., Mayr, A., Petrangeli, M., et al. (2006). High-sensitivity C-reactive protein and risk of nontraumatic fractures in the Bruneck study. Archives of internal medicine. https://doi.org/10.1001/archinte.166.22.2495
Vancouver
Schett G, Kiechl S, Weger S, Pederiva A, Mayr A, Petrangeli M, et al. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein and risk of nontraumatic fractures in the Bruneck study. Archives of internal medicine. 2006. doi:10.1001/archinte.166.22.2495. PMID: 17159016.
BibTeX
@article{schett2006-17159016,
author = {Schett, G. and Kiechl, S. and Weger, S. and Pederiva, A. and Mayr, A. and Petrangeli, M. and Oberhollenzer, F. and Lorenzini, R. and others},
title = {{High-sensitivity C-reactive protein and risk of nontraumatic fractures in the Bruneck study}},
journal = {Archives of internal medicine},
year = {2006},
doi = {10.1001/archinte.166.22.2495},
pmid = {17159016},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1001/archinte.166.22.2495}
}
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