Fracture risk tool validation in an integrated healthcare delivery system.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the utility of the Fracture Risk Calculator (FRC, Foundation for Osteoporosis Research and Education) for predicting 10-year hip fracture risk within a "real world" population.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study.

METHODS: We identified female members of Kaiser Permanente Northern California aged ≥50 years with bone mineral density (BMD) measured during 1997-2003. Hospitalization for hip fracture was ascertained up to 10 years following the BMD date, and 10-year observed hip fracture probabilities were calculated. Baseline data for fracture risk calculation were extracted from health plan databases, including age, race/ethnicity, smoking, body mass index, prior fracture, rheumatoid arthritis, glucocorticoid use, disorders associated with bone loss, and femoral neck BMD. Predicted 10-year FRC hip fracture probabilities were compared with observed 10-year hip fracture probabilities.

RESULTS: Among 94,489 women (mean age 62.8 +/- 8.6 years, average femoral neck Z-score +0.1),the median duration of follow-up was 6.6 years, during which 1579 (1.7%) hip fractures occurred. Using the FRC, 23% met or exceeded the National Osteoporosis Foundation's 3% hip fracture threshold. The FRC somewhat underestimated observed hip fracture probabilities; across 10-year risk categories <1%, 1% to 2.9%, and 3% to 4.9%, ratios of observed to median predicted probabilities ranged from 1.3 to 1.4.

CONCLUSIONS: The FRC tool can be applied to assess fracture risk in large populations using data from administrative databases. Despite some underestimation, this relatively simple tool may assist targeting of at-risk populations for more complete fracture risk assessment.