Upper-thoracic vertebral fractures and non-vertebral fracture burden in Parkinson's disease: a matched case-control study

This matched case-control study of 116 Parkinson's disease patients with osteoporotic vertebral fractures and 349 matched controls found that PD is associated with a 2.35-fold higher risk of total fractures and nearly threefold higher upper-thoracic vertebral fractures (T1-T10). Non-vertebral fractures were also significantly more common in PD patients, particularly at the hip, distal radius/ulna, and ribs, suggesting increased fall risk and skeletal fragility beyond bone mineral density reduction.