A feasibility study evaluating three fragility risk assessment tools
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A feasibility study evaluating the performance of three fragility risk assessment tools in predicting falls in older people; A prospective study of older care home residents in the UK
IRAS ID
59238
Contact name
Felix Ihama
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 30 days
Research summary
Fragility fractures (osteoporotic fractures) are common in care home residents. With increasing life expectancy world-wide, these are set to increase. The financial burden, morbidity and mortality associated with such fractures are enormous. There is currently no study evaluating the performance of these tools in care home residents. Most of the fragility fracture assessment tools in current use were developed in relatively healthy community dwelling elderly populations and estimate the 10-year fracture risk probability. The average life expectancy of care home residents is 1.5 years. Therefore these tools may not be useful in this frailer cohort. Also it is not clear if these tools can predict falls, the cause of 90% of osteoporotic fractures and how pragmatic these tools are in care home residents. This pilot study seeks to identify the best and most practical tool for use in care homes and provide evidence based recommendations. As it is a pilot study, it will provide data to inform a larger study in future. NICE has recommended that a study of this type is needed (NICE CG146, August 2012). All care home residents who meet eligibility criteria (please see A17-1 and A17-2) ) will be considered for participation in the study. The study is a prospective observational study in care home residents with 12 months of follow-up. The primary outcome is falls. Falls were chosen as the primary endpoint because other than vertebral fractures, the vast majority of fractures result from falls. Marshall et al (1996) reported an incidence of 1.6 falls per person per year in care home population, for this study, this may translate to 212 falls in 12 months. Fractures are far less common and assessment of osteoporosis using DEXA scan is not practicable in this cohort. Participants will have weight, ulnar length and Timed Up & Go Test estimated.
REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/EM/1225
Date of REC Opinion
9 Jan 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion