Study reveals regional variations in risk of childhood bone fractures

A new study has revealed regional variations in children's risk of sustaining bone fractures.

The University of Southampton study examined the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink database records from 1988 to 2012, looking at information on broken bones and demographic data to calculate the risk of the child experiencing a fracture.

Wales was seen to have the highest fracture rates, with Welsh children almost twice as likely to suffer a breakage as those living in Greater London, while fracture rates in the north of England and Scotland were also higher than those in the south.

It was shown that 30 percent of boys and 19 percent of girls will sustain a broken bone before their 18th birthday. Additionally, ethnic background seemed to affect fracture rates in varying ways.

Among white children, the rate of fractures was 150 per 10,000 children annually, compared to 81 incidents per 10,000 children in the South Asian community and 64 fractures per 10,000 black children.

Nicholas Harvey, professor of rheumatology and clinical epidemiology at the University of Southampton's MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, said: "Further work will be needed to understand the reasons for the variation in fracture rates across the UK, but are likely to involve differences in socioeconomic circumstances, ethnic diversity, and levels of obesity and physical activity."