Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Epidemiology of osteoporotic fractures

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Osteoporosis International Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Several osteoporotic fractures such as hip fractures have a very high morbidity and mortality, and there are similar new findings for vertebral fractures. There have been several definitions of an osteoporotic fracture, and recently updated definitions have specified fractures occurring at a site associated with low BMD and which increase in incidence after the age of 50 years. Other definitions are based on clinical diagnosis. Lifetime risk of any osteoporotic fracture is very high and lies within the range of 40–50% in women and 13–22% for men. Measuring the true burden of osteoporotic fractures involves multiplying the morbidity of hip fractures according to age group: for women aged 50–54 years, the disability caused by osteoporotic fractures is 6.07 times that accounted for by hip fracture alone, and for women aged 80–84 years, the incidence of hip fractures should be multiplied by 1.55; for men aged 50–54 years, the incidence of hip fractures should be multiplied by 4.48, and for those aged 80–84 years by 1.50.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Consensus Development Conference (1991) Prophylaxis and treatment of osteoporosis. Am J Med 90:107–110

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. World Health Organization (1994) Assessment of fracture risk and its application to screening for postmenopausal osteoporosis. Technical Report Series. WHO, Geneva

  3. Gärdsell P, Johnell O (1993) Bone mass: a marker of biologic age? Clin Orthop 287:90–93

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Johansson C, Black D, Johnell O, Odén A, Mellström D (1998) Bone mineral density is a predictor of survival. Calcif Tissue Int 63:190–196

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Browner WS, Seeley D, Vogt TM, Cummings SR (1991) Non-trauma mortality in elderly women with low bone mineral density. Study of Osteoporotic Fractures Research Group. Lancet 338:355–358

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Kanis JA, Odén A, Johnell O Jönsson B, de Laet C, Dawson A (2001) The burden of osteoporotic fractures: a method for setting intervention thresholds. Osteoporos Int 12:417–427

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Kanis JA, Johnell O, Odén A, Borgström F, Zethraeus N, De Laet C, Jönsson B (2004) The risk and burden of vertebral fractures in Sweden. Osteoporos Int15(1):20–26

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Melton LJ III, Chriscilles EA, Cooper C, Lane AW, Riggs BL (1992) Perspective: how many women have osteoporosis? J Bone Miner Res 7:1005–1010

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. van Staa TP, Dennison EM, Leufkens HG, Cooper C (2001) Epidemiology of fractures in England and Wales. Bone 29:517–522

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Kanis JA, Johnell O, Odén A, Sernbo I, Redlund-Johnell I, Dawson A, de Laet C, Jönsson B (2000) Long-term risk of osteoporotic fracture in Malmö. Osteoporos Int 11:669–674

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Doherty DA, Sanders KM, Kotowicz MA, Prince RL (2001) Lifetime and five-year age-specific risks of first and subsequent osteoporotic fractures in postmenopausal women. Osteoporos Int 12:16–23

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Sernbo I, Johnell O (1993) Consequences of a hip fracture: a prospective study over 1 year. Osteoporos Int 3:148–153

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Kanis JA, Odén A, Johnell O, De Laet C, Jönsson B, Oglesby AK (2003) The components of excess mortality after hip fracture. Bone 32:468–473

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Johnell O (1997) The socioeconomic burden of fractures: today and in the 21st century. Am J Med 103:20S–25S

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Kanis JA, Johnell O, de Laet C, Jönsson B, Odén A, Ogelsby AK (2002 ) International variations in hip fracture probabilities: implications for assessment guidelines. J Bone Miner Res 17(7):1237–1244

    Google Scholar 

  16. Cooper C, Campion G, Melton LJ III (1992) Hip fractures in the elderly: a world-wide projection. Osteoporos Int 2:285–289

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Gullberg B, Johnell O, Kanis JA (1997) World-wide projections for hip fracture. Osteoporos Int 7:407–413

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Felsenberg D, Silman AJ, Lunt M et al (2002) Incidence of vertebral fracture in Europe: results from the European Prospective Osteoprosis Study (EPOS). J Bone Miner Res 17(4):716

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Genant HK, Jergas M, Palermo L, Nevitt M, Valentin RS, Black D, Cummings SR (1996) Comparison of semiquantitative visual and quantitative morphometric assessment of prevalent and incident vertebral fractures in osteoporosis. The Study of Osteoporotic Fractures Research Group. J Bone Miner Res 11:984–996

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Fujiwara S, Mizuno S, Ochi Y, Sasaki H, Kodama K, Russell WJ, Hosoda Y (1991) The incidence of thoracic vertebral fractures in a Japanese population: Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 1958–86. J Clin Epidemiol 44:1007–1014

    Google Scholar 

  21. Nevitt MC, Ettinger B, Black DM, Stone K, Jamal SA, Ensrud K, Segal M, Genant HK, Cummings SR (1998) The association of radiographically detected vertebral fractures with back pain and function: a prospective study. Ann Intern Med 128:793–800

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Silverman SL, Minshall ME, Shen W, Harper KD, Xie S (2001) Health-related quality of life subgroup of the Multiple Outcomes of Raloxifene Evaluation Study. Arthritis Rheum 44:2611–2619

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Ismail AA, O’Neill TW, Cooper C et al (1998) Mortality associated with vertebral deformity in men and women: results from the European Prospective Osteoporosis Study (EPOS). Osteoporos Int 8:291–297

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Ensrud KE, Thompson DE, Cauley JA, Nevitt MC, Kado DM, Hochberg MC, Santora AC, Black DM (2000) Prevalent vertebral deformities predict mortality and hospitalization in older women with low bone mass. Fracture Intervention Trial Research Group. J Am Geriatr Soc 48(3):241–249

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Hasserius R, Karlsson MK, Nilsson BE, Redlund-Johnell I, Johnell O (2003) Prevalent vertebral deformities predict increased mortality and increased fracture rate in both men and women: a 10-year population-based study of 598 individuals from the Swedish cohort in the European Vertebral Osteoporosis Study. Osteoporos Int 14:61–68

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Kanis JA, Odén A, Johnell O, De Laet C, Jönsson B (2004) Excess mortality after hospitalisation for vertebral fracture. Osteoporos Int 15(2):108–112

    Google Scholar 

  27. Johnell O, Kanis JA, Odén A, Sernbo I, Redlund-Johnell I, Petterson C, De Laet C, Jönsson B (2004) Fracture risk following an osteoporotic fracture. Osteoporos Int 15(3):175–179

    Google Scholar 

  28. de Laet CE, van Hout BA, Burger H, Weel AE, Hofman A, Pols HA (1999) Incremental cost of medical care after hip fracture and first vertebral fracture: the Rotterdam study. Osteoporos Int 10:66–72

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Grady D, Rubin SM, Petitti DB, Fox CS, Black D, Ettinger B, Ernster VL, Cummings SR (1992) Hormone therapy to prevent disease and prolong life in postmenopausal women. Ann Intern Med 117:1016–1037

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Klotzbuecher CM, Ross PD, Landsman PB, Abbott TA III, Berger M (2000) Patients with prior fractures have an increased risk of future fracture: a summary of the literature and statistical synthesis. J Bone Miner Res 15:721–739

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Johnell O, Kanis JA, Odén A, Sernbo I, Redlund-Johnell I, Petterson C, De Laet C, Jönsson B (2004) Mortality after osteoporotic fractures. Osteoporos Int 15(1):38–42

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to John Kanis.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Johnell, O., Kanis, J. Epidemiology of osteoporotic fractures. Osteoporos Int 16 (Suppl 2), S3–S7 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00198-004-1702-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00198-004-1702-6

Keywords

Navigation