Osteoporosis? 3x Fracture Risk After First Fracture

If someone is walking around with osteoporosis—diagnosed or undiagnosed—their risk of fracture risk is three fold after the first fracture, says new research from Iceland.

Lead author Nicholas Harvey, M.D., from the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom told OTW, “The risk of a second osteoporotic fracture was greatest immediately after the first fracture and thereafter decreased with time though remained higher than the population risk throughout follow up. For example, 1 year after the first fracture the risk of a second fracture was three times higher than the population risk. After 10 years it was two times higher.”

“If a patient presents with an osteoporotic fracture then their risk of having another fracture is particularly high in the period immediately after the presenting fracture, which strongly suggests that assessment of bone health and treatment with anti-osteoporosis medications should be undertaken as a matter of urgency following an initial fracture.”

According to the May 9, 2016 news release, “The authors tracked results for 118, 872 men and women born between the years 1907 and 1935 who participated in Reykjavik Study during 1967-1991, looking at fracture rates from the point of study entry until the end of 2012. Their findings were presented at the recent World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Disease held on April 14-17, 2016 in Malaga, Spain.”

“Untreated osteoporosis is a public health crisis. Many of us see firsthand the ravages of this disease every day—pain, fractures, loss of mobility and independence, and diminished quality of life, ” said Douglas P. Kiel, M.D., M.P.H., American Society for Bone and Mineral Research President and Director of the Musculoskeletal Research Center and Senior Scientist for the Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife. “These results build on mounting evidence that identifying and treating patients after the first fracture is crucial to preventing suffering.”

“This new information makes it more important than ever that physicians and health care providers take immediate steps to evaluate and treat patients who have sustained an osteoporotic fracture, ” said Dr. Robert F. Gagel, Professor of Medicine, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, National Osteoporosis Foundation President and National Health Bone Alliance (NHBA) Co-Chair. “At present, only 26% of patients who sustain their first osteoporotic fracture are evaluated and treated, putting large numbers of patients at risk for subsequent life altering and preventable fractures—a travesty we must work to fix.”

“These finding support our focus on secondary fracture prevention and closing the 70 to 80% care gap for testing and treatment for patients over the age of 50 who experience a fracture, ” added Dr. Robert Adler, Professor of Internal Medicine, Epidemiology and Community Health, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Chief, Endocrinology and Metabolism, McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and NBHA Co-Chair.