The global, regional, and national burden attributable to low bone mineral density, 1990–2020: an analysis of a modifiable risk factor from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND: Fractures related to osteoporosis and low bone mineral density lead to substantial morbidity, mortality, and cost to individuals and health systems. Here we present the most up-to-date global, regional, and national estimates of the contribution of low bone mineral density to the burden of fractures from falls and additional categories of injuries from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021. METHODS: ). The population-attributable fraction for low bone mineral density was calculated by comparing the observed distributions of standardised femoral neck bone mineral density to an age-specific and sex-specific counterfactual distribution, defined as the 99th percentile of five rounds of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in the USA, by 5-year age group…