Understanding the Burden of Osteoporosis and Use of the World Health Organization FRAX
Copyright 2012, SLACK Incorporated.
doi: 10.3928/01477447-20120822-12
Abstract
Fracture prevention is a critical component of managing osteoporosis, which is no longer defined by T-score alone. The internationally validated World Health Organization Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX) provides the clinician a state-of-the-art tool for predicting patients at greatest risk for fracture. The FRAX tool takes into account country, bone mineral density of the hip (when available), age, sex, and 8 clinical risk factors to calculate the 10-year probability of a major osteoporotic fracture and the 10-year probability of a hip fracture. From this tool, an absolute fracture risk is generated, aiding clinicians in determining which patients with low bone mass and osteoporosis to treat.
