Osteoporosis and Fragility Fractures in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis: Usefulness of FRAX^® as a Screening Tool

The purpose of this study is to assess the prevalence of osteoporosis and fragility fractures in patients with liver cirrhosis (LC) and determine the associated risk factors, evaluating the usefulness of FRAX^® as a screening method to identify patients at a higher risk of fracture.

This was a cross-sectional study. Demographic, clinical, and analytical data were collected in a randomized sample of LC patients attending the Hepatology Department of a university hospital. We assessed the absolute risk of fracture at 10 years (FRAX^®) and based on the bone mineral density (BMD), the presence of morphometric vertebral fracture with a vertebral fracture assessment (VFA), or a thoracic and lumbar X-ray and bone microarchitecture with a trabecular bone score (TBS).

Ninety-two patients were included (71% male); the mean age was 63 ± 11.3 years. The main etiology of LC was alcoholism (52.2%), and most patients were Child-Pugh A (80.4%), with a mean model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score of 10.1 ± 3.6. Sixteen patients (17.4%) had osteoporosis, and fifty-four (58.7%) had osteopenia. Eight patients (8.7%) had suffered at least one fragility fracture. The absolute risk of a major fracture according to FRAX without the BMD was 5.7 ± 4.5%. Risk factors associated with osteoporosis were age and the female sex. BMI > 30 was a protective factor. A FRAX cut-off point for a major fracture > 6.6% had a sensitivity of 69% and a specificity of 85% for a diagnosis of osteoporosis.

The prevalence of osteoporosis and fractures in patients with LC is high, particularly in older women. FRAX^® may be a useful method to identify candidates for bone densitometry. A FRAX value below 6.6% without the BMD can avoid unnecessary testing.