[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/testing\/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-frax-risk-assessment-tool\/#Article","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/testing\/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-frax-risk-assessment-tool\/","headline":"FRAX tool: What you need to know about this assessment","name":"FRAX tool: What you need to know about this assessment","description":"Print PDF eBook Facebook Twitter Gmail LinkedIn Pinterest The fracture risk tool known as FRAX has come under fire from the World Health Organization (WHO) recently for several reasons. One key reason is that, although it\u2019s often referred to as the \u201cWHO FRAX tool\u201d and was developed at a WHO \u201ccollaborating center\u201d at Sheffield University, […]","datePublished":"2017-03-31","dateModified":"2026-04-22","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/author\/brownbetterbonesgmail-com\/#Person","name":"Dr. Susan E. Brown, PhD","url":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/author\/brownbetterbonesgmail-com\/","identifier":72,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8e08d87bd45250c6616e1752933a6576aba077f335d97ee337a0cde5e435cbd3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8e08d87bd45250c6616e1752933a6576aba077f335d97ee337a0cde5e435cbd3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Center for Better Bones","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Better-Bones-AMP.png","url":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Better-Bones-AMP.png","width":150,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/frax-assessment-osteoporosis-BB-Blog-3-17.jpg","url":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/frax-assessment-osteoporosis-BB-Blog-3-17.jpg","height":1256,"width":2400},"url":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/testing\/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-frax-risk-assessment-tool\/","about":["Testing"],"wordCount":501,"keywords":["FRAX"],"articleBody":" Print PDF eBook\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFacebook\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTwitter\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGmail\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLinkedIn\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPinterest\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe fracture risk tool known as FRAX has come under fire from the World Health Organization (WHO) recently for several reasons. One key reason is that, although it\u2019s often referred to as the \u201cWHO FRAX tool\u201d and was developed at a WHO \u201ccollaborating center\u201d at Sheffield University, the FRAX fracture risk tool was not developed, evaluated, endorsed, or validated by WHO itself (Ford et al., 2016).In fact, WHO\u2019s health policy organization has no access to the algorithms, coefficients, or underlying data on which the FRAX tool was developed (nor does anyone else, for that matter!).Table of ContentsToggle     2 Minutes ReadFRAX uses these risk factorsWhat the FRAX tool doesn\u2019t doFRAX uses these risk factorsThe only thing we know about how FRAX works are the risk factors they use in making the prediction:AgeSexWeightHeightPersonal history of fractureFamily history of hip fractureSmokingCorticosteroid useRheumatoid arthritisSecondary causes of osteoporosisHeavy alcohol useWhat the FRAX tool doesn\u2019t doAll of these are factors that affect osteoporosis risk, but they\u2019re far from a complete picture. Among the more glaring omissions: FRAX gathers no data on intake of bone-building nutrients like calcium, vitamin D, vitamin K, and magnesium \u2014 all widely known to be vital to bone health \u2014 and it does not ask women about their menopause status. Given the fact that menopause looms large in determining a woman\u2019s bone density (which is part of the data they ask for), that\u2019s a pretty serious oversight!Even more telling is the fact that the FRAX risk assessments are used as a basis of a recommendation for bone drugs. Keeping in mind that the tool has not been evaluated or endorsed by the WHO, the world\u2019s premier health policy-making body, you have to wonder what the basis of a recommendation might be that omits so many key risk factors.It may become clearer once you know that the FRAX was developed by researchers with vested interests in drug therapies for osteoporosis \u2014 a bias that encourages overtreatment of women concerned about their bone health. In fact, well respected osteoporosis researchers determined that if the FRAX criteria, which are endorsed by the U.S. National Osteoporosis Foundation, were applied universally, almost 75% of U.S. Caucasian women 65 or over and a staggering 93% of those 75 or older would be candidates for osteoporosis drug treatment.For these reasons, I tell my clients and readers, \u201cconsider the source\u201d of the information coming from this tool. You may want to try my simple but reliable Bone Health Profile to assess the health of your bones and your potential risk of fracture. ReferencesFord N., Norris S.L., Hill S.R. Clarifying WHO\u2019s position on the FRAX\u00ae tool for fracture prediction. Bull World Health Organ 2016;94:862 | doi: http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.2471\/BLT.16.188532For guidance on supplementation alongside testing, see our guide to the best supplements for bone health."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Testing","item":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/testing\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"FRAX tool: What you need to know about this assessment","item":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/testing\/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-frax-risk-assessment-tool\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]