Wrist fractures ‘could predict serious fracture risk in older women’

A new study has indicated that postmenopausal women who experience a wrist fracture could be at greater risk of another, more serious breakage in later life.

The University of California – Los Angeles (UCLA) has indicated that one in five women who are past the menopause but are younger than 65 who had experienced a broken wrist went on to suffer a non-wrist fracture during the next ten years.

Moreover, it was indicated that women who broke a wrist stood a 40 percent higher chance of breaking other bones during the subsequent 11 years, compared with women who did not experience a wrist fracture.

The researchers suggest that aberrations in bone structure or strength could be behind this increased fracture risk.

Study leader Dr Carolyn Crandall, a professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the UCLA, said: "The information highlights the great importance of working to develop strategies to prevent future fractures after an initial wrist fracture occurs."

It is well known that changes to the body that occur after menopause can make women more susceptible to bone health issues and diseases such as osteoporosis in later life.