• All News
• Consumer
• Pro
• New Drugs
• Pipeline
• Clinical Trials
• FDA Alerts

Severe Mental Illness Tied to Fragility Fractures in People 50 Years and Older

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Oct 25, 2024.

FRIDAY, Oct. 25, 2024 -- Severe mental illness (SMI) is associated with an increased likelihood of fragility fractures, while osteoporosis may be underdiagnosed, according to a study published online Oct. 14 in the British Journal of General Practice.

Christina Avgerinou, M.D., Ph.D., from University College London, and colleagues examined the association between SMI and a recorded diagnosis of osteoporosis and fragility fracture in people aged 50 years and older. Patients with a diagnosis of SMI aged 50 to 99 years were matched to those without SMI (50,006 and 394,474, respectively).

The researchers found that SMI diagnosis increased the likelihood of an osteoporosis diagnosis in men, with differences mainly seen for those aged 50 to 54 years and 85 to 99 years (hazard ratios, 2.12 and 2.15, respectively); across all ages, SMI increased the risk for fragility fractures. In women, SMI increased the risk for osteoporosis diagnosis only among those aged 50 to 54 years (hazard ratio, 1.16), but the risk for fragility fractures was increased across all ages. Compared with men without SMI, more than twice as many men with SMI had fragility fracture records than an osteoporosis diagnosis (fragility fracture-to-osteoporosis ratio, 2.10 versus 1.89). For women, the corresponding ratios were 1.56 and 1.11.

"Osteoporosis screening and management may need to be considered as part of the annual care plan for individuals with SMI," the authors write. "Appropriate interventions to prevent fragility fractures in people with SMI are needed."

Abstract/Full Text

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted October 2024

More news resources

• FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
• Daily MedNews
• News for Health Professionals
• New Drug Approvals
• New Drug Applications
• Drug Shortages
• Clinical Trial Results
• Generic Drug Approvals

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.