ABSTRACT
Objective: To assess the relationship between the FRAX index and the Barthel index/MiniMental
State Examination in older people.
Patients and methods: Observational descriptive study. Demographic data, comorbidity,
dependency and cognitive state, and risk of osteoporotic fracture were collected.
Results: A total of 375 patients were included (60% female) Patients with a low-risk FRAX for
hip fractures had a higher Mini-mental (25, 95% CI¼24–27 vs. 22, 95%¼21 to 23, p¼.0001), a
higher Barthel index (88, 95% CI¼84–93 vs 72, 69 to 76, p¼.0001) without differences in the
Charlson index. Bivariate analysis showed an inverse association between FRAX and scales but
logistic regression showed only female sex (OR 4.4, 95% CI¼2.6–7.6) and the non-dependent
Barthel index (OR¼0.104, 95% CI¼0.014–0.792) remained significant and. Barthel index/Minimental
constructed a significant model capable of predicting a risk of hip fracture of >3% measured
by the FRAX index, with an area under the curve of 0.76 (95% CI¼0.7–0.81).
Conclusions: The FRAX index is related to other markers of geriatric assessment and the association
between these variables can predict a risk of hip fracture of >3% measured by the
FRAX index.
