Osteoporotic Fracture Risk Assessment Using Bone Mineral Density in Korean: A Community-based Cohort Study

BACKGROUND Fracture-risk assessment tool (FRAX) using just clinical risk factors of osteoporosis has been developed to estimate individual risk of osteoporotic fractures. We developed prediction model of fracture risk using bone mineral density (BMD) as well as clinical risk factors in Korean, and assessed the validity of the final model. METHODS To develop and validate an osteoporotic FRAX, a total of 768 Korean men and women aged 50 to 90 years were followed for 7 years in a community-based cohort study. BMD as well as clinical risk factors for osteoporotic fracture including age, sex, body mass index, history of fragility fracture, family history of fracture, smoking status, alcohol intake, use of oral glucocorticoid, rheumatoid arthritis, and other causes of secondary osteoporosis were assessed biannually. RESULTS During the follow-up period, 86 osteoporotic fractures identified (36 in men and 50 in women). The developed prediction models showed high discriminatory power and had goodness of fit. CONCLUSIONS The developed a Korean specific prediction model for osteoporotic fractures can be easily used as a screening tool to identify individual with high risk of osteoporotic fracture. Further studies for validation are required to confirm the clinical feasibility in general Korean population.