Fractures: Vast Geographic Differences (Elizabeth Hofhienz @ OTW)
Fractures…they’re all over the map. The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) Working Group on Epidemiology and Quality of Life has just completed a study of country-specific risk of hip fracture and 10-year probability of a major fragility fracture. Even accounting for possible errors or limitations in the source data, there was a 10-fold variation in hip fracture risk and fracture probability between countries. The researchers have used the data from the study to formulate all-new online global hip fracture incidence and 10-year fracture probability maps.
The team found that the highest risk countries for both genders are in North Western and Central Europe. High risk countries outside of Europe include Lebanon, Oman, Iran, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan. In the U.S., ethnic-specific rates place Caucasian women at high risk, whereas Hispanic, Asian and Black populations are at low risk.
The study, “A systematic review of hip fracture incidence and probability of fracture worldwide,” utilized age-standardized hip fracture rates from 63 countries. Additionally, the study documents variations in major fractur...
