A meta-analysis of previous falls and subsequent fracture risk in cohort studies
An erratum to this article was published (Osteoporos Int, May 2026 ↗)
Authors' conclusion
A previous self-reported fall confers an increased risk of fracture that is largely independent of BMD.
Study context
- Population
- Women and men (66.9% female) from 46 prospective cohorts
- Participants
- 906,359 women46 prospective cohorts
- Comparison
- Previous fall in the past year vs no previous fall
- Outcome
- Any clinical fracture, osteoporotic fracture, major osteoporotic fracture and hip fracture
Methodological detailsinternational, random-effects meta-analysis, Poisson regression extension
- International
- Random-effects meta-analysis
- Poisson regression extension
Pooled result
As reported in the abstract
Any clinical fracture, women
Previous fall vs No previous fallHazard ratio (95% CI)
Women
1.42(1.33–1.51)
Men
1.53(1.41–1.67)
Further pooled results
| Outcome | HR (95% CI) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major osteoporotic fracture by sexPrevious fallvs No previous fallMen · Sex significantly modified the association; higher in men | 1.53 (1.27–1.84) | P for interaction = 0.013 | |
| Major osteoporotic fracture by sexPrevious fallvs No previous fallWomen · Sex significantly modified the association; higher in men | 1.32 (1.20–1.45) | P for interaction = 0.013 | |
| 0.512Hazard ratio (log scale) |
Modifiers: age, follow-up, bone mineral density (BMD), number of falls
- HRs decreased with age in women and with duration of follow-up in men and women for most fracture outcomes
- No evidence of an interaction between falls and BMD
- Major osteoporotic fracture risk increased with each additional previous fall in women and men
Original publication
A meta-analysis of previous falls and subsequent fracture risk in cohort studies. Osteoporos Int. Published 17 January 2024. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →