Predicting hip-fracture risk

	UC Davis researchers have identified risk factors for hip fractures in postmenopausal women.

To help doctors predict the five-year risk of hip fractures in their postmenopausal patients, UC Davis researcher John Robbins and his team have developed a method that assesses nearly a dozen factors, including age, ethnicity and level of physical activity. Using data from the Women's Health Initiative, the researchers evaluated the clinical risk factors associated with hip fractures in women and created a process that they say could be useful in making decisions about screening and the use of medications for osteoporosis. The study appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association.