WHO Fracture Risk Assessment Tool version 3.1 launched

Now with 8 new country models, 6 additional languages

The WHO Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX-) has today been launched in version 3.1., featuring eight new country models and accessible in six additional languages.

FRAX- is a free online fracture-risk calculator (http://www.shef.ac.uk/FRAX/) that has been developed by the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Metabolic Bone Diseases at the University of Sheffield, UK. A growing number of physicians around the world are using the tool as an aid in making informed treatment decisions in the course of a clinical assessment of their patients. The calculation tool generates the following results:

• The 10-year probability of a major osteoporotic event
• The 10-year probability of a hip fracture
• Body Mass Index
• For UK users, NOGG guidance is accessible, providing a guide for interpreting the results and indicating potential courses of action.

FRAX- is country-specific, with each country model based on national epidemiological data on osteoporotic fracture incidence and mortality rates. A total of 26 country models are available, now including Australia, Canada, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Colombia, Hungary, Mexico, the Netherlands, and South Korea. A model for Denmark will be added shortly.

Version 3.1 is accessible in 11 languages, with the addition of simplified Chinese, Danish, Finnish, Russian, Swedish and Polish.

iPhone Application makes tool accessible in all clinical settings:

In order to expand accessibility of the tool to clinical settings without internet access, an iPhone application has recently been launched in partnership with the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF). Any proceeds resulting from iPhone downloads are used to support IOF educational programmes. The iPhone application can be downloaded at http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/frax/id370146412?mt=8