A new study has found that fragility fractures are associated with an increased risk of mortality. Researchers from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) have introduced a novel concept called Skeletal Age, which is the age of an individual’s skeleton resulting from a fragility fracture. The study aims to help doctors and patients understand the gravity of bone fractures as they measured the extent to which a bone fracture can lead to early death, creating a publicly available tool for doctors and patients to calculate risk.
Researchers used the Danish National Hospital Discharge Register, which includes the whole-country data of 1.6 million adults in Denmark. They discovered that a bone fracture was associated with losing one to seven years of life, depending on gender, age, and bone site. Researchers applied their concept of ‘Skeletal Age’ to an online calculator that measures bone fragility to help doctors and patients better understand the hazards connected with bone fractures, assess the typical decline in life expectancy, and provide a better awareness of the severity of these fractures.
UTS Distinguished Professor Tuan Nguyen, the project leader, acknowledged that “the risk of premature death is exceptionally high for patients who suffer a hip fracture, with 30% of patients dying within a year of the fracture. However, the risk of premature death increases with other types of bones fractures.” The Skeletal Age tool aims to provide an alternative approach to traditional doctor-patient communication of fracture risk, which often involves using probability. Currently, patients sometimes perceive a 5% risk of death following a hip fracture over five years as a 95% chance of surviving a hip fracture, although the probability is much lower. Skeletal Age gives patients a better understanding of the hazards connected with bone fractures, making it easier to comprehend than simple probability statistics.
Dr. Thach Tran, a co-lead author of the paper, said that “the Skeletal Age tool provides an alternative approach to informing patients of their fracture risk. For example, instead of informing a 60-year-old woman that her risk of death following a hip fracture is 5%, she can be informed that her skeletal age is 65.” This means that instead of providing a number that some patients may find challenging to comprehend, doctors can explain to patients that their skeletal age is older than their chronological age as a result of the fragility fracture.
Distinguished Professor Nguyen said that the development of the Skeletal Age tool is a breakthrough in the prevention of premature death associated with osteoporosis. “With this new tool, doctors and patients can work together to reduce the risk of bone fractures and ensure better bone health for all.”
The study findings’ implications are that Skeletal Age may have a significant impact on the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis and help patients understand bone fracture risks better. While this research provides a novel concept to understand the severity of bone fractures, there may be some challenges in educating and convincing patients to carefully consider the risks of fragility fractures. Nevertheless, researchers suggest that the tool can help patients seek medical attention earlier, encouraging early diagnosis, and providing early treatment. Ultimately, Skeletal Age could potentially lead to reduced mortality associated with fragility fractures.
