Predict Your Chances of Having an Osteoporotic Fracture

Electronic medical records have their uses.  British researchers have used them to build an algorithm to predict the chances of someone having a fracture related to osteoporosis over the next 10 years. It’s called the QFractureScore, and it’s been published in the British Medical Journal. 

Data were obtained from a group of some 2.4 million men and women in England and Wales ranging over 15 years.  The overall fracture risk for men had the following associations: age, body mass index (BMI), smoking, alcohol, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, asthma, use of tricyclic antidepressants or corticosteroids, liver disease, and a history of falls.  For women, additional associations included hormone replacement therapy (HRT), a parent’s history of osteoporosis, intestinal malabsorption, and symptoms of the menopause.  There was no need for lab tests to be included in building the algorithm.  The final form was validated by testing it against data from roughly 1.3 million men and women. 

The resultant test is online, and you can run it for yourself or someone in your immediate family.  If the result is at all alarming let your doctor know, and adapt your lifestyle to correct the problem, as far as you can.  (Stop smoking, try to drink less, control your weight, strengthen your leg muscles and your balance by appropriate exercise, and make your home fall-proof.)