BACKGROUND: Fragility fractures are a major public health issue with substantial socioeconomic cost. Vitamin-D deficiency and increased bone turnover are associated with higher rates of bone loss and an increased risk of fracture. We hypothesized that patients with a distal radial fracture would have lower levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) and increased levels of serum bone turnover markers than controls without a fracture. METHODS: Postmenopausal women with a recent distal radial fracture (fracture group, n = 105) were prospectively recruited and were compared with individuals without a fracture (control group, n = 150). Outcome variables included serum levels of 25(OH)D and markers of bone formation, including N-terminal extension propeptide of type-I collagen (P1NP), parathyroid hormone (PTH), bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BSAP), and osteocalcin, as well as a marker of resorption (C-terminal telopeptide of type-I collagen [CTX-1]). Bone mineral density was measured with dual x-ray absorptiometry. RESULTS: The fracture group was slightly older than the control group (mean and standard deviation [SD], 66.8 ± 10.8 years versus 63.3 ± 9.0 years, p = 0.008), had a lower body mass index (26.4 ± 5.9 kg/m(2) versus 28.0 ± 6.2 kg/m(2), p = 0.05), and more commonly had had a prior fracture (52% versus 31%, p < 0.001). Bone mineral density at the hip was lower in the fracture group than in the control group (0.831 ± 0.130 g/cm(2) versus 0.917 ± 0.139 g/cm(2), p < 0.001). The mean 25(OH)D levels were similar in the fracture and control groups (44.4 ± 14.6 ng/mL versus 41.3 ± 14.5 ng/mL, p = 0.08). Levels of serum markers of bone formation were significantly higher in the fracture group than in the control group (P1NP: 70.4 ± 33.2 ng/mL versus 53.2 ± 25.6 ng/mL, p < 0.001; osteocalcin: 22.3 ± 9.9 ng/mL versus 20.2 ± 9.2 ng/mL, p = 0.017). Levels of BSAP, PTH, and CTX-1 were similar in the two groups. Multivariable logistic regression showed independent associations between a distal radial fracture and low total hip bone mineral density (odds ratio [OR] = 2.02 for each decrease of 1 SD, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.38 to 3.01, p < 0.001) and a high P1NP level (OR = 2.17 for each 1-SD increase, 95% CI = 1.52 to 3.06, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort, 25(OH)D levels were not associated with distal radial fracture and do not appear to affect the risk assessment for distal radial fracture in postmenopausal women. Patients with a distal radial fracture, however, had increased bone turnover as evidenced by high P1NP and osteocalcin levels. Women with both a high P1NP level and low bone mineral density were at particularly high risk for fracture.