Riassunto dello studio

Eleven thousand thirty-two elderly women with at least one clinical risk factor for fracture were randomized to undergo a screening program for fracture risk combined with subsequent primary care treatment (n=5575) or usual care (n=5457). Patients in the screening group received bone densitometry and vertebral fracture assessment, and patients with a high 10‐year fracture probability/vertebral fracture were treated by their general practitioner. The primary outcome of interest was the incidence of any type of fracture. Secondary outcomes of interest included the incidence of osteoporotic fractures, hip fractures, incidence of falls, and mortality. All outcomes were evaluated at 18-months and 36-months follow-up. Results of this trial demonstrated that there was no statistical significant difference in the risk of any of the outcomes between the 2 groups (p>0.05 for all).