The Center for Science in the Public Interest in a recent issue of Nutrition Action Healthletter recommended taking the FRAX – WHO (World Health Organization) Fracture Assessment. The Nutrition Action Newsletter stated that you can use the tool to estimate your risk of fracture, whether or not you’ve had your bone mineral density tested.
The FRAX® tool has been developed by WHO to evaluate fracture risk of patients. It is based on individual patient models that integrate the risks associated with clinical risk factors as well as bone mineral density (BMD) at the femoral neck.
The FRAX models have been developed from studying population-based cohorts from Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. In their most sophisticated form, the FRAX tool is computer-driven and is available on this site. Several simplified paper versions, based on the number of risk factors are also available, and can be downloaded for office use.
The FRAX algorithms give the 10-year probability of fracture. The output is a 10-year probability of hip fracture and the 10-year probability of a major osteoporotic fracture (clinical spine, forearm, hip or shoulder fracture).
The National Osteoporosis Foundation includes this information about the tool:
“FRAX®. If your bone density test shows that you have low bone density (osteopenia), the fracture risk assessment tool called FRAX can help estimate your chance of breaking a bone within the next 10 years. This makes it easier to decide whether you might benefit from taking an osteoporosis medicine. The FRAX tool uses information about your bone density and other risk factors for breaking a bone to estimate your 10-year fracture risk.”
“If you have low bone density, your DXA report may include your FRAX score along with your bone density. If it doesn’t, your healthcare provider can find out your FRAX score using a web-based version. The FRAX tool can be used to guide decisions about treatment in people who meet the following three conditions:
- Postmenopausal women or men age 50 and older
- People with low bone density (osteopenia)
- People who have not taken an osteoporosis medicine”
When you choose which calculation tool to use, there are numerous variations depending on your country or continent: Asia, Europe, North America, Latin American and Oceania (Australia and New Zealand).
The North America designation includes different versions for Canada and the US. The US version is further broken down into sections for US (Caucasian), US (Black), US (Hispanic) and US (Asian).
Choose your fracture tool based on your location. The form will also give you the following advice, risk factors and explanations. If you have trouble with the FRAX tool, consider upgrading your version of Adobe Flash. Click here to upgrade.
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