The research found that 37 women in every 10,000 have a wrist fracture each year and that the risk increased with age, with no plateau in the rate of fracture for women over 70 as has previously been suggested. With wrist fractures now almost as prevalent as hip fractures, it's crucial that patients are investigated for osteoporosis at this stage to prevent further and potentially more serious fractures in the future. Whilst wrist fractures are not life threatening they can seriously affect an individual's quality of life, with as many as a third of patients failing to regain full use of the affected wrist.
Osteoporosis is a disease which causes bones to become so fragile that they break easily.
In the UK it currently affects 1 in 3 women and 1 in 12 men during their lifetime. However osteoporosis can be largely prevented and successfully treated to reduce further bone loss and the risk of fractures. The NOS Seventh Bath Conference on Osteoporosis is the UK's leading conference on bone and a key international event, featuring over 500 delegates from 25 countries worldwide. TW O'Neill, WA Wallace, JD Finn, DW Purdie, DM Reid, R Rowe, AD Woolf, C Cooper, on behalf of the National Osteoporosis Society Colles' Fracture Study Group. ARC Epidemiology Unit, University of Manchester.