The primacy of falls in fracture risk explains a number of apparent osteoporosis paradoxes. For example, despite the fact that about 70 percent of bone mass is determined by your genes,3271 the heritability of hip fractures appears negligible3272 because the propensity to fall is much less inherited.3273 It also explains the poor predictive value of DXA scanning for fractures. Adding bone mineral density measures to a hip risk score based just on age, sex, height, weight, the use of a walking aid, and cigarette smoking status did little to improve its predictive power.3274 A provocative
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