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A Formula for Fractures Equation helps predict the chance that a woman will break a bone (HealthDay News) -- A little math is helping to prevent broken bones. It's a mathematical formula called the fracture risk -- or FRISK -- formula, and it's been proven 75 percent accurate in predicting which older women are most likely to suffer a fracture. Knowing that can help doctors tailor treatment strategies to prevent fractures, which frequently lead to disability and death. The FRISK formula is a "move in the right direction to find a better way to discuss fracture risk," said Dr. Robert Heaney, a professor of medicine at the Osteoporosis Research Center at Creighton University in Omaha , Neb. "There are efforts worldwide to try to do a better job of predicting fractures," he told HealthDay . A woman's FRISK score is based on a number of factors, including bone density. "The equation is a simple combination of bone mineral density at the spine and femoral neck [the upper part of the thigh bone, close to the hip joint], the number of previous fractures sustained, body weight and a falls score derived from the number of falls in the previous year," said Margaret Joy Henry, a statistician at the University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, where the FRISK formula was developed. "Doctors normally assess bone mineral density at the spine and femoral neck and will have this data available to include in the equation," Henry told HealthDay . "The previous number of fractures and falls are self-reported by the patient, and weight is easily measured." She said FRISK goes beyond methods currently used by doctors to assess bone fracture risk in women. Those include T-scores, which compare a person's bone density to a group of young females with peak bone density, and Z-scores, a comparison with age-matched peers, at certain sites, generally the hip and spine. "However, there has not been a method to combine the contribution of the different anatomical sites to an individual's overall fracture risk," said Henry, who was lead author of a study that assessed the effectiveness of FRISK. In that study, the researchers used the formula to assess hundreds of women in their 70s and then followed the women for six years. They found that the formula predicted fractures 75 percent of the time. FRISK scoring uses a 0 to 10 scale. The study found that a score of 5.4 or higher was associated with increased likelihood of suffering a fracture, and that every one-unit increase in the FRISK score increased the fracture risk by 1.75. The findings were published in the journal Radiology . Though the FRISK formula improves doctors' ability to predict fracture risk, an even more effective method is under development, said Dr. Mone Zaidi, professor of medicine/endocrinology, geriatrics and adult development, and structural and chemical biology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City . "The World Health Organization is developing what will be a more validated test," Zaidi told HealthDay . "The FRISK score is a very simplistic view of the whole thing, by no means complete." On the Web To learn more about keeping bones healthy, visit the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. SOURCES: HealthDay News ; Margaret Joy Henry, Ph.D., statistician, Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Mone Zaidi, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine/endocrinology, geriatrics and adult development, structural and chemical biology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York City; Robert Heaney, M.D., professor of medicine and scientist, Osteoporosis Research Center, Creighton University, Omaha, Neb.; October 2006, Radiology Author: Robert Preidt Publication Date: Oct. 31, 2007 Copyright © 2007 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.