Fragility Fractures and Imminent Fracture Risk in the Spanish Population: A Retrospective Observational Cohort Study

• Published in: Journal of clinical medicine Vol. 10; no. 5; p. 1082
• Main Authors: Montoya-García, Maria-José, Giner, Mercè, Marcos, Rodrigo, García-Romero, David, Olmo-Montes, Francisco-Jesús, Miranda, Mª José, Hernández-Cruz, Blanca, Colmenero, Miguel-Angel, Vázquez-Gámez, Mª Angeles
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 05.03.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Age groups; Clinical medicine; Cohort analysis; Emergency medical care; Fractures; Medical records; Mortality; Observational studies; Osteoporosis; Population; Risk factors; Women; Spain; fragility fracture; osteoporosis; imminent fracture risk; fracture risk
• ISSN: 2077-0383; 2077-0383
• DOI: 10.3390/jcm10051082

Fragility fractures constitute a major public health problem worldwide, causing important high morbidity and mortality rates. The aim was to present the epidemiology of fragility fractures and to assess the imminent risk of a subsequent fracture and mortality. This is a retrospective population-based cohort study (n = 1369) with a fragility fracture. We estimated the incidence rate of index fragility fractures and obtained information on the subsequent fractures and death during a follow-up of up to three years. We assessed the effect of age, sex, and skeletal site of index fracture as independent risk factors of further fractures and mortality. Incidence rate of index fragility fractures was 86.9/10,000 person-years, with highest rates for hip fractures in women aged ≥80 years. The risk of fracture was higher in subjects with a recent fracture (Relative Risk(RR), 1.80; < 0.01). Higher age was an independent risk factor for further fracture events. Significant excess mortality was found in subjects aged ≥80 years and with a previous hip fracture (hazard ratio, 3.43 and 2.48, respectively). It is the first study in Spain to evaluate the incidence of major osteoporotic fractures, not only of the hip, and the rate of imminent fracture. Our results provide further evidence highlighting the need for early treatment.