Osteoporotic Fractures Increased after Distal Radius Fractures

A study published in Osteoporosis International found that cumulative incidence of osteoporotic fractures following distal radius fractures (DRFs) increased during the study period and was higher among women.

Researchers assessed claims data from the Korea National Health Insurance Service and identified 41,417 South Korean patients with first-time DRFs in 2012. The occurrence of osteoporotic fractures of the spine, hip, wrist, and humerus at least six months after the index DRF was tracked through 2016. All fractures were identified by specific diagnosis and procedure codes.

The four-year cumulative incidence of all subsequent osteoporotic fractures was 14.74% (n=6,105): 9.47% in men and 15.9% in women. The number of associated subsequent fractures was 2,850 for the spine (46.68%), 2,271 for the wrist (37.2%), 708 for the hip (11.6%), and 276 for the humerus (4.52%).

The cumulative mortality rate one year after first DRF was 1.47% and after subsequent DRFs was 0.71%. The mortality rate of subsequent DRFs were lower than first-time DRFs: Overall standardized mortality ratios were 1.48 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.37-1.61) and 0.71 (95% CI, 0.42-1.21), respectively.

“Given the increasing incidence rate of DRFs, the incidence of subsequent osteoporotic fractures may also increase,” the researchers concluded.