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Clinical Summary

Childhood fracture tied to higher risk for subsequent fractures

Takeaway

  • A fracture in childhood is associated with increased risk for future fractures compared with children who never experienced a break.

Why this matters

  • Childhood fracture rates are on the rise.
  • Secondary prevention measures to promote bone health might be considered in some children, especially those with multiple fracture history or multiple risk factors.

Key results

  • Children who had a fracture at baseline had 60% increased rate of later fractures: adjusted incidence rate ratio, 1.60 (95% CI, 1.46-1.75; P<.0001).
  • 23.0% of children who had a fracture at baseline had 1 or more fractures in the 7 subsequent years, compared with 11.3% of children with no initial fracture.
  • Boys were more prone than girls to later fractures after an initial event, with the difference peaking at about age 12 years.

Study design

  • Population-based, retrospective database study covering about 2.5 million healthy children aged 0-15 yearsliving in Ontario, Canada, from April 2003 to March 2004, followed for 7 years.
  • Funding: None disclosed.

Limitations

  • Not a complete birth cohort.
  • Database limitations apply, including the possibility of coding variations.

References


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