Determining whether women with osteopenic bone mineral density have low, moderate, or high clinical fracture risk.
OBJECTIVE
Most low-trauma fractures occur among women with osteopenic bone mineral density (BMD), a population considered to have moderate absolute fracture risk. Our purpose was to refine the fracture risk prediction in women with osteopenic BMD to determine the subgroups at lowest and highest risk.


METHODS
We included 2,588 women aged 50 to 90 years with osteopenic BMD (femoral neck BMD between -1 and -2.5) participating in the Canadian Multicentre Osteoporosis Study, an ongoing prospective cohort study of randomly selected Canadians. Baseline variables, in addition to known risk factors, age, and BMD, were considered for inclusion in a model for the prediction of 5-year absolute risk of low-trauma fracture. Models were derived using logistic regression and assessed by the Bayesian Information Criterion.


RESULTS
We found an increased fracture risk among those with lower BMD (odds ratio [OR], 1.53; 95% CI, 1.06-2.21) for each decrease in femoral neck T score (eg, from -1 to -2), those with prior low-trauma fracture (OR, 2.06; 95% CI, 1.46-2.92), those with self-reported worse general health (OR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.15-1.59) for each lower category (categories: excellent, very good, good, fair, poor), and those with height loss (OR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.16-1.90) for each 5-cm difference between current and maximal height. The new model had yielded a better risk stratification than did a model with World Health Organization risk factors.


CONCLUSIONS
Including risk factors such as general health and height loss can be used to provide a highly effective assessment of fracture risk among women with osteopenic BMD.
Langsetmo
Lisa
L
CaMos National Coordinating Centre, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Morin
Suzanne
S
Kovacs
Christopher S
CS
Kreiger
Nancy
N
Josse
Robert
R
Adachi
Jonathan D
JD
Papaioannou
Alexandra
A
Goltzman
David
D
Hanley
David A
DA
Olszynski
Wojciech P
WP
Prior
Jerilynn
J
Jamal
Sophie A
SA
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015519:Bone Density; D001851:Bone Diseases, Metabolic / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012306:Risk