Jacqueline Center, PhD: How Fracture Location Affects Mortality Risk

Findings of a recent study highlighted the importance of treating patients for their bone health. A team of investigators from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research studied 300,000 patients with a low-trauma fracture and learned that the location of the broken bone significantly impacted long-term health outcomes of older individuals.

The findings highlighted that patients with proximal fractures, or those located closer to the center of the body, led to a greater risk of being admitted to the hospital for major medical conditions and an increased risk of dying prematurely compared to individuals of similar age and health without a fracture.

The research provided information to help investigators understand why people do poorly after a fracture and how healthcare professionals could intervene to improve outcomes.

For more information on the study and how fracture location was associated with an increased risk of mortality, HCPLive® spoke with Jacqueline Center, MBBS, FRACP, PhD, from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Australia. Center broke down the findings of her research presented at the Endocrine Society (ENDO) 2020 Annual Scientific Sessions and future research which aims to find out why the association exists.