Ontario Association of Radiologists and Osteoporosis Canada Statement about FRAX

October 14, 2008

You may have heard about a new fracture risk assessment tool called FRAX, developed by the World Health Organization (WHO). FRAX is a system for determining absolute fracture risk. Different FRAX tools are needed for each country since fracture rates are very different, even between Canada and the United States. Currently, no Canadian FRAX tools exists. Therefore, both the OAR and OC do not recommend the use of FRAX in Canada at this time. It is recommended that fracture risk continue to be determined using the 2005 Canadian Association of Radiologists document, "Recommendations for Bone Mineral Density Reporting in Canada" (CARJ Vol. 56, No 3, June 2005).