Fragility Fractures
Are broken bones that happen spontaneously or as a result of normal daily activities or a fall from standing height or less.
Fragility fractures are the most serious sign of osteoporosis
A fragility fracture should trigger a Bone Mineral Density Test (BMD)
- Fragility fractures are responsible for excess mortality, morbidity, chronic pain, admission to institutions and economic costs1-3
- Those with hip or vertebral fractures have substantially increased risk of death after the fracture2
- Multiple vertebral fractures can cause significant pain, anxiety, depression, reduced pulmonary function and agitation4
Height loss = Early warning signs
All men and women 50+ should have annual height measurements
- ¾” in one year (~ 2cm)
- 2 ½” since young adulthood (~ 6 cm)
Should trigger a SPINAL X-RAY and assessment for osteoporosis
Spinal Fractures can result in:
back pain, depression, height loss, protruding abdomen, reduced lung function,
weight loss, sleep disturbance, impaired activities of daily living
Hip Fractures
One in three hip fracture patients re-fracture at one year and over 1 in 2 will suffer another fracture within 5 years.
40% of people who fracture a hip had a prior (non-hip) fracture - which was not recognized as a warning sign of osteoporosis
Only 44% of hip fracture patients discharged from hospital go home.
28% of women and 37% of men with osteoporosis related hip fractures will die of complications the following year
Economic Impact of hip fractures
- Hip fractures consume scarce orthopedic resources and more hospital bed days than stroke, diabetes or heart attack.
- Ontarians sustain almost 50,000 osteoporotic fractures annually, and of those, about 13,000 hip fractures result in hospital admission.
- A hip fracture results in a hospital stay of 16 days on average and each hip fracture costs the Ontario healthcare system approximately $64,000 leading to a projected annual cost exceeding $800 million (in 2016 dollars) at present.
- A rapidly aging population is expected to lead to an extra 3,000 hip fractures by 2024 and 6,000 more by 2028 - costing an additional $190 million annually by 2024 (in 2016 dollars).
Ontarians sustain almost 50,000 osteoporotic fractures annually, and of those, about 13,000 hip fractures result in hospital admission.
A hip fracture results in a hospital stay of 16 days on average and each hip fracture costs the Ontario healthcare system approximately $64,000
By 2041 the cost of hip fractures is projected to rise to $2.4 billion annually.
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