WASHINGTON — The risk of vertebral fragility fractures is threefold higher among postmenopausal women with at least one prevalent radiographic fracture, compared with those without such a history, Ethel S. Siris, M.D., said at an international symposium sponsored by the National Osteoporosis Foundation.
Awareness of previous vertebral fractures can help physicians evaluate vertebral fragility and target osteoporosis therapy appropriately, Dr. Siris, a professor of clinical medicine at Columbia University, New York and her colleagues, said in a poster presented at the meeting.
Their review of data on 2,651 postmenopausal women, mean age 67 years, included 1,181 women with prevalent vertebral fractures and assessed fracture risk independent of lumbar spine bone mineral density. Overall, the greater the number of prevalent vertebral fractures, the greater the risk of sustaining subsequent fractures.
Patients with three or more fractures had as much as an eightfold increased risk. Greater severity scores on the semi-quantitative deformity scale were associated with as much as an 11-fold increase in the risk of fracture.
Dr. Siris is a consultant for and has received honoraria from Eli Lilly & Co., Merck & Co., Sanofi-Aventis, Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals, and Novartis.