Is decreased psoas volume a risk factor for hip fracture? A comparative study of patients with and without hip fractures using the exact matching technique

Hee Chung Chung and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study to assess sarcopenia's role in hip fractures, focusing on psoas muscle volume using AVIEW software. Analyzing data from 545 fracture patients and 1292 controls, they applied exact matching for age, sex, BMI, and BMD to isolate risk factors. The study revealed that height-adjusted psoas muscle volume significantly predicts hip fractures, independent of BMD. Additional findings highlighted that older age, female sex, lower BMI, and reduced BMD are associated with higher fracture risk. This research emphasizes that sarcopenia, particularly reduced psoas volume, plays a critical role in hip fracture risk. Limitations include its single-center design and absence of functional muscle assessments. Future studies should incorporate diverse populations and functional sarcopenia metrics. By promoting routine APCT-based psoas volume analysis, this study introduces a practical tool for early identification of high-risk individuals, offering a promising direction for fracture prevention strategies.