FRAX is used to estimate what in osteoporosis risk assessment?

• A. Determines bone mineral density through imaging
• B. Estimates 10-year probabilities of major osteoporotic and hip fractures from clinical risk factors, with or without BMD
• C. Measures serum calcium levels
• D. Assesses response to therapy after treatment initiation

Answer: (B)

FRAX is a fracture risk assessment tool that estimates a person’s 10-year probability of experiencing a fracture due to osteoporosis. It uses clinical risk factors—age, sex, weight/BMI, prior fragility fracture, parental hip fracture, smoking, glucocorticoid use, rheumatoid arthritis, secondary osteoporosis, and alcohol intake—and can include bone mineral density if available to refine the estimate. The output provides the chances of a major osteoporotic fracture and a hip fracture over the next decade. It does not measure bone density itself (that requires imaging like DXA), nor does it assess serum calcium or response to therapy. So, FRAX specifically estimates 10-year fracture probabilities from clinical risk factors, with or without BMD.