AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 80:461479 (1989) zy Hamann-Todd Collection Aging Studies: Osteoporosis Fracture Syndrome ROBERT P. MENSFORTH AND BRUCE M. LATIMER zyxw Department zyxwvu of Anthropology, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio zy 441 15 (R.P.M.); Physical Anthropology Laboratory, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, Ohio 441 06 (B.M.L.) KEY WORDS Skeletal aging, Osteoporosis, Old-age fractures ABSTRACT The study presents a retrospective analysis of distal radius, proximal femur, vertebral, and sacral fractures that occurred in 938 Haman Todd Collection skeletons. Individuals included in the investigation were retrieved from dissecting room cadavers in Cleveland, Ohio, between the ye 1910 and 1940. Demographic analysis showed that the mean ages at death blacks and whites included in the study were 41.9 and zyx ON 53.8 years, respectively. Evaluations of fracture repair status were made for all fractures that were identified. Observations that document side of involvement and unilaterall bilateral distribution were made for distal radius and hip fractures. It was found that the age-, sex-, and race-related fracture patterns which characte ize the early 20th century Hamann-Todd sample strongly correspond i distribution and magnitude to those seen in modern American and Europea urban industrial communities. The distal radius, hip, vertebral, and sacral fractures which were identified in individuals over 60 years of age appear to be a primary result of skeletal fragility due to age progressive bone loss. However, it is suggested that the early onset and high frequency of distal radius fractures seen in climacteric Caucasian women may be more directly due to accidental falls initiated by a greater frequency, intensity, and duration of vasomotor disturbances which are known to accompanay estrogen withdrawal in perimenopausal white females. The present study is the first in a series of investigations focusing on the skeletal biol- ogy of aging in the Hamann-Todd (HT) Col- lection. A major proportion of this large skel- etal collection is composed of black and white men and women born between the years 1825 and 1910. The skeletons and demo- graphic records of these American- and Eu- ropean-born individuals were retrieved by anatomists by Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio between the years 1910 and 1940. The HT Collection thus provides a unique opportunity to examine the effects of biological aging that characterized a diverse urban industrial community prior to the ini- tiation and widespread use of antimicrobial drugs, hormonal replacement therapies, and nutritional dietary supplements. Our retrospective inquiries are designed to explore the various degenerative sequelae that accompany age progressive bone loss in human groups lacking the benefits of mod- ern medical care. Factors involved in the etiology and morphological expression of such changes are of primary concern. The specific purposes of this study are to 1) docu- ment the age-, sex-, and race-related charac- teristics of osteoporosis fracture syndrome i the HT Collection and 2) compare the result- ant epidemiological patterns to those seen in more contemporary American and European urban industrial communities. Here, it is deemed appropriate to consider both the clinical significance and socioeconomic im- portance of zyxw ON osteoporosis fracture syndrome as it occurs in modern human groups. The high frequency of osteoporosis-related fractures among the elderly is a pervasive health care problem confronting the geriat- ric segment of our society. For example, it is Received November 4,1988; revision accepted March 17,198 @ 1989 ALAN R. LISS, INC.