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FRAX Fracture Risk Calculator

Estimate ten year fracture risk from clinical risk factors and bone density.

About FRAX Fracture Risk Calculator

Fracture risk is driven by age and clinical risk factors as much as by bone density, which is why treatment decisions use absolute risk rather than T-score alone. This is a simplified approximation of the published model. Many fractures occur in people whose density is not in the osteoporosis range, which is precisely why absolute risk assessment replaced density thresholds.

Formula

FRAX Fracture Risk

Risk rises multiplicatively with age, falling T-score and each clinical risk factor

T-score
Standard deviations from young adult peak bone density
major osteoporotic fracture
Hip, clinical spine, forearm or shoulder

Worked example

With the default values below, FRAX Fracture Risk Calculator returns Ten Year Major Osteoporotic Fracture Risk of 21.06%. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Ageaccepts 40–90 years
68 years
Sexone of Male, Female
Female
Body mass indexaccepts 12–50 kg/m2
24 kg/m2
Femoral neck T-scoreaccepts -5–3
-2.1
Clinical risk factors presentaccepts 0–7
2

Results

Ten Year Major Osteoporotic Fracture Risk
21.06%
Ten Year Hip Fracture Risk
7.37%
Bone Density Category
Low bone mass, sometimes described as osteopenia
Risk Band
High risk by commonly used intervention thresholds
Risk Multiplier From Clinical Factors
1.823 x

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2FRAX Fracture Risk
  3. 3Ten Year Major Osteoporotic Fracture Risk= 21.06
  4. 4Ten Year Hip Fracture Risk= 7.37
  5. 5Bone Density Category= Low bone mass, sometimes described as osteopenia
  6. 6Risk Band= High risk by commonly used intervention thresholds
  7. 7Risk Multiplier From Clinical Factors= 1.823 x

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 5 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 3 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
  • This reproduces a published formula for educational and reference use only. It is not a diagnostic tool, does not account for individual clinical context, and must not be used to make or change treatment decisions. Clinical assessment by a qualified healthcare professional is always required. This is a rough approximation and not the validated FRAX tool, which requires country-specific calibration. Use the official FRAX calculator for your country and discuss results with a healthcare professional.
  • This is an estimate for general information and not professional medical advice. See the full disclaimer for the limits that apply to this kind of calculator.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

This reproduces a published formula for educational and reference use only. It is not a diagnostic tool, does not account for individual clinical context, and must not be used to make or change treatment decisions. Clinical assessment by a qualified healthcare professional is always required. This is a rough approximation and not the validated FRAX tool, which requires country-specific calibration. Use the official FRAX calculator for your country and discuss results with a healthcare professional.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is FRAX Fracture Risk calculated?

Risk rises multiplicatively with age, falling T-score and each clinical risk factor Fracture risk is driven by age and clinical risk factors as much as by bone density, which is why treatment decisions use absolute risk rather than T-score alone. This is a simplified approximation of the published model.

Why does FRAX Fracture Risk matter?

Many fractures occur in people whose density is not in the osteoporosis range, which is precisely why absolute risk assessment replaced density thresholds.

What values do I need to enter?

This calculator takes 5 inputs: Age, Sex, Body mass index, Femoral neck T-score, Clinical risk factors present. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.

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