Who should be assessed for fracture risk?

Information for the public

Your doctor may offer you an assessment of your risk of bone fracture, depending on your age and the presence of other factors that might increase your risk, to help decide if preventive treatment might be helpful for you.

You may be offered an assessment if you are a woman aged 65 years or older or a man aged 75 years or older.

If you are a woman under 65 years or a man under 75 years you may be offered an assessment if, for example, you:

have had a fragility fracture
are currently using steroid tablets or injections or have used them frequently and recently
have a history of falling
have a family member who has had a hip fracture
have another condition known to cause osteoporosis
are underweight for your height (called a low body mass index)
smoke
drink more than 14 units of alcohol a week.

These are all factors that can increase your risk of fracture.

If you are aged under 50 years your doctor should only offer you an assessment if you have a greatly increased risk of fracture. This may be because you are using steroid tablets or injections, or you had an early menopause and did not receive hormone treatment for it, or you have had fragility fractures in the past. Most people aged under 50 are unlikely to be at high risk.