A diagnosis of reduced bone density (osteoporosis)
does not automatically mean a person will sustain a
fragility fracture. Fracture risk is better assessed in
combination with Lifestyle and other risk factors, and
this can then be used to target prevention strategies.
The World Health Organisation has publishedFRAX, a fracture risk calculator that can be viewed online (www.shef.
ac.uk/FRAX). FRAX provides a 10-year risk probability for an individual
to suffer a hip fracture or major osteoporotic fracture. Data has been
developed from clinical risk assessments and tested on European, North
American, Asian and Australian populations.