Evaluating Osteoporotic Fracture Risk in Latin American Countries

Abstract

The epidemiology of osteoporosis (OP) has been extensively studied especially in countries of the northern hemisphere (USA, Europe), while in Latin America (LA) data is scarce in relation to the North American or European populations [1-5]. Hip fracture (HF), although it is the least frequent (<20%) of all osteoporotic fractures, is considered an appropriate model for the epidemiological study of OP, since patients who suffer from it practically always enter a hospital for their attention [6] which allows the epidemiological registration of them. In contrast, patients with humerus or distal radius fractures are usually treated outside the hospital and therefore are underreported. The recording of the rate of clinical vertebral fractures is even more complex because the definitions vary, and it is difficult to distinguish recent painful vertebral fractures from the most common radiological vertebral deformities detected in patients with back pain [6].