Rib fragility fracture increases mortality risk
Australian research quantifies the effects
7th September 2018
By Clare Pain
Patients with a rib fragility fracture are at increased risk of death and future fractures, Australian research shows.
Data from the Dubbo Osteoporosis Epidemiology study (DOES) show that men have an almost eightfold — and women a fivefold — increase in mortality risk in the year after a rib fragility fracture.
More than 2000 people over 60 from Dubbo, in western NSW, participated in the study, with 55% being women.
Over nearly 13 years of follow-up, 6.5% of the men and 6.9% of the women had rib fragility fractures — 137 cases in all.
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