FRAX--Where are we now?

Juliet Compston

doi:10.1016/j.maturitas.2015.07.024

FRAX--Where are we now?

Maturitas. 2015 Nov;82(3):284-7. doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2015.07.024. Epub 2015 Jul 31.

Author

Juliet Compston¹

Affiliation

¹ Emeritus Professor of Bone Medicine, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, UK. Electronic address: jec1001@cam.ac.uk.

PMID: 26277257
DOI: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2015.07.024

Abstract

Bone mineral density (BMD) measurements have been widely used in clinical practice for the diagnosis of osteoporosis, monitoring of treatment, and prediction of fracture risk. However, although BMD values show high specificity for prediction of fractures, their sensitivity is quite low. Fracture risk algorithms such as FRAX improve prediction by including clinical risk factors that act independently of BMD. This mini-review discusses the strengths and limitations of FRAX relevant to its use in clinical practice.

Keywords: Bone mineral density; FRAX; Fracture risk prediction.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Algorithms*
Bone Density*
Fractures, Bone / etiology*
Humans
Osteoporosis / complications*
Probability
Risk Assessment
Risk Factors
Sensitivity and Specificity