Five-Year CT Follow-Up of Vertebral Fracture Risk Using Opportunistic Osteoporosis Screening

This study evaluates whether opportunistic osteoporosis screening using routinely acquired computed tomography (CT) scans improves fracture risk prediction compared with guideline-recommended FRAX-based screening from age 50. In current practice, few high-risk individuals identified by FRAX actually receive confirmatory dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), despite the growing health and economic burden of osteoporotic fractures. Volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD) and CT-based detection of vertebral fractures can be extracted from existing CT images obtained for other indications, offering a non-invasive way to capture key determinants of fracture and mortality risk, including low BMD, age, and prevalent fractures. The trial therefore compares the diagnostic performance of FRAX major osteoporotic fracture risk versus CT-derived vBMD and CT-identified vertebral fractures for predicting incident vertebral fractures in older adults.

NCT Number	NCT07487688
Lead Sponsor	Technical University of Munich
Conditions	Osteoporosis, Fracture Risk Assessment, Osteoporotic Fracture of Vertebra
Enrollment	2,799 participants
Start Date	2003-02-25
Primary Completion	2021-10-15 (estimated)
Study Completion	2021-10-15 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-03-31