Past falls can help predict an individual's risk of bone fracture independent of other factors

Results from a new study in Journal of Bone and Mineral Research indicate that an individual's history of past falls can help predict their risk of bone fractures, independent of bone mineral density and other clinical factors.

The findings were made in the large Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) cohort, comprising 4,365 men in United States, 1,823 in Sweden, and 1,669 in Hong Kong, with an average age ranging from 72.4 to 75.4 years, and average follow-up time from 8.7 to 10.8 years. Even after accounting for results from the Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX) and/or bone mineral density tests, past falls were associated with a 63%-71% increased risk of a new fracture occurring.

"Whilst the predictive value of falls for future fracture is well-established, these new findings—the result of a successful ongoing collaboration across UK, Sweden, Hong Kong, and the US—inform approaches to clinical fracture risk assessment, demonstrating that the fracture risk associated with prior falls is relevant over and above the risk identified by the current global standard approach of FRAX and bone mineral density," said lead author Prof. Nicholas Harvey, of the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, UK.