Fall History Independently Predicts Fracture Risk

A history of falls can help to predict the risk of bone fractures in the future, independent of bone mineral density (BMD) and other clinical measures, according to the results of a recent study.

Although previous research has established fall history to be a predictor of future fracture, its value relative to that of BMD measurement is unknown.
_________________________________________________________________

RELATED CONTENT
Calcium, Vitamin D May Not Help to Prevent Fractures
Fracture Risk Easily Determined With Comprehensive Assessment
_________________________________________________________________

For their study, researchers examined data from 3 Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study cohorts, including elderly men from Sweden, Hong Kong, and the United States. The researchers recorded fall history, clinical risk factors, BMD at femoral neck, and fracture probabilities. Overall, information was available for 4365 men in the US, 1823 in Sweden, and 1669 in Hong Kong.

Rates of past falls were similar between the 3 groups (20%, 16%, and 15% for US, Sweden, and Hong Kong, respectively). In all 3 cohorts, past falls predicted incident fracture at any site (hazard ratio [HR] 1.69, 95% CI 1.49, 1.90), major osteoporotic fracture (HR 1.56; 95% CI 1.33, 1.83), and hip fracture (HR 1.61; 95% CI 1.27, 2.05). The relationship between past falls and incident fracture remained robust following adjustment for fracture probability.

“In conclusion, past falls predicted incident fracture independently of [fracture] probability, confirming the potential value of falls history in fracture risk assessment,” they authors wrote.

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Harvey NC, Oden A, Orwoll E, et al. Falls predict fractures independently of FRAX probability: a meta-analysis of the osteoporotic fractures in men (MrOS) study [published online December 8, 2017]. JBMR. doi:10.1002/jbmr.3331.