About Us

The Bone Health and Fractures Research Program (BHFRP), nested within the Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research at Australian Catholic University, aims to contribute to improving and maintaining bone and muscle function in older men and women as part of the healthy aging process.

Specifically, we aim to:

  • Identify novel therapies and/or lifestyle factors to prevent and treat osteoporosis
  • Identify novel risk factors for fracture to improve risk prediction and prevention
  • Improve the FRAX® tool enabling enhanced assessment of fracture risk
  • Offer a comprehensive platform for assessing bone and muscle health

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Select publications

  1. Kanis JA, Johansson H, McCloskey EV, Liu E, Åkesson KE, Anderson FA, Azagra R, Bager CL, Beaudart C, Bischoff-Ferrari HA, Biver E, Bruyère O, Cauley JA, Center JR, Chapurlat R, Christiansen C, Cooper C, Crandall CJ, Cummings SR, da Silva JAP, Dawson-Hughes B, Diez-Perez A, Dufour AB, Eisman JA, Elders PJM, Ferrari S, Fujita Y, Fujiwara S, Glüer CC, Goldshtein I, Goltzman D, Gudnason V, Hall J, Hans D, Hoff M, Hollick RJ, Huisman M, Iki M, Ish-Shalom S, Jones G, Karlsson MK, Khosla S, Kiel DP, Koh WP, Koromani F, Kotowicz MA, Kröger H, Kwok T, Lamy O, Langhammer A, Larijani B, Lippuner K, Mellström D, Merlijn T, Nordström A, Nordström P, O'Neill TW, Obermayer-Pietsch B, Ohlsson C, Orwoll ES, Pasco JA, Rivadeneira F, Schott AM, Shiroma EJ, Siggeirsdottir K, Simonsick EM, Sornay-Rendu E, Sund R, Swart KMA, Szulc P, Tamaki J, Torgerson DJ, van Schoor NM, van Staa TP, Vila J, Wareham NJ, Wright NC, Yoshimura N, Zillikens MC, Zwart M, Vandenput L, Harvey NC, Lorentzon M, Leslie WD. Previous fracture and subsequent fracture risk: a meta-analysis to update FRAX. Osteoporos Int. doi: 10.1007/s00198-023-06870-z. Online ahead of print. PMID: 37566158
  2. Jaiswal R, Johansson H, Axelsson KF, Magnusson P, Harvey NC, Vandenput L, McCloskey E, Kanis JA, Litsne H, Johansson L, Lorentzon M.J. Hemoglobin levels improve fracture risk prediction in addition to FRAX® clinical risk factors and bone mineral density. Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2023:dgad399. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgad399. Online ahead of print. PMID: 37406247
  3. Kanis JA, Johansson H, Harvey NC, Lorentzon M, Liu E, Vandenput L, Morin S, Leslie WD, McCloskey EV. Adjusting conventional FRAX estimates of fracture probability according to the number of prior falls in the preceding year. Osteoporos Int. 2023 Mar;34(3):479-487. PMID: 36562788
  4. Axelsson KF, Woessner MN, Litsne H, Wheeler M, Flehr A, King AJ, Kalén M, Vandenput L, Lorentzon M. Eating disorders are associated with increased risk of fall injury and fracture in Swedish men and women. Osteoporos Int. 2022 Jun;33(6):1347-1355. doi: 10.1007/s00198-022-06312-2. PMID: 35088102
  5. Harvey NC, Orwoll E, Cauley JA, Kwok T, Karlsson MK, Rosengren BE, Ribom E, Cawthon PM, Ensrud K, Liu E, Laskou F, Ward KA, Dennison EM, Cooper C, Kanis JA, Vandenput L, Lorentzon M, Ohlsson C, Mellström D, Johansson H, McCloskey E. Greater pQCT Calf Muscle Density Is Associated with Lower Fracture Risk, Independent of FRAX, Falls and BMD: A Meta-Analysis in the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) Study. JBMR Plus. 2022 Nov 22;6(12):e10696. doi: 10.1002/jbm4.10696. PMID: 36530188
  6. Johansson L, Johansson H, Axelsson KF, Litsne H, Harvey NC, Liu E, Leslie WD, Vandenput L, McCloskey E, Kanis JA, Lorentzon M. Improved fracture risk prediction by adding VFA-identified vertebral fracture data to BMD by DXA and clinical risk factors used in FRAX. Osteoporos Int. 2022 Aug;33(8):1725-1738. doi: 10.1007/s00198-022-06387-x. PMID: 35451623
  7. Kanis JA, Johansson H, Harvey NC, Gudnason V, Sigurdsson G, Siggeirsdottir K, Lorentzon M, Liu E, Vandenput L, McCloskey EV. Adjusting conventional FRAX estimates of fracture probability according to the number of prior fractures. Osteoporos Int. 2022 Dec;33(12):2507-2515. doi: 10.1007/s00198-022-06550-4. PMID: 36161339
  8. Kristjansdottir HL, Mellström D, Johansson P, Karlsson M, Vandenput L, Lorentzon M, Herlitz H, Ohlsson C, Lerner UH, Lewerin C. Anemia is associated with increased risk of non-vertebral osteoporotic fractures in elderly men: the MrOS Sweden cohort. Arch Osteoporos. 2022 Jun 23;17(1):85. doi: 10.1007/s11657-022-01130-9. PMID: 35739404
  9. Larsson BAM, Johansson L, Mellström D, Johansson H, Axelsson KF, Harvey N, Vandenput L, McCloskey E, Liu E, Sundh D, Kanis JA, Lorentzon M. One leg standing time predicts fracture risk in older women independent of clinical risk factors and BMD. Osteoporos Int. 2022 Jan;33(1):185-194. doi: 10.1007/s00198-021-06039-6. PMID: 34498096
  10. Vandenput L, Johansson H, McCloskey EV, Liu E, Åkesson KE, Anderson FA, Azagra R, Bager CL, Beaudart C, Bischoff-Ferrari HA, Biver E, Bruyère O, Cauley JA, Center JR, Chapurlat R, Christiansen C, Cooper C, Crandall CJ, Cummings SR, da Silva JAP, Dawson-Hughes B, Diez-Perez A, Dufour AB, Eisman JA, Elders PJM, Ferrari S, Fujita Y, Fujiwara S, Glüer CC, Goldshtein I, Goltzman D, Gudnason V, Hall J, Hans D, Hoff M, Hollick RJ, Huisman M, Iki M, Ish-Shalom S, Jones G, Karlsson MK, Khosla S, Kiel DP, Koh WP, Koromani F, Kotowicz MA, Kröger H, Kwok T, Lamy O, Langhammer A, Larijani B, Lippuner K, Mellström D, Merlijn T, Nordström A, Nordström P, O'Neill TW, Obermayer-Pietsch B, Ohlsson C, Orwoll ES, Pasco JA, Rivadeneira F, Schei B, Schott AM, Shiroma EJ, Siggeirsdottir K, Simonsick EM, Sornay-Rendu E, Sund R, Swart KMA, Szulc P, Tamaki J, Torgerson DJ, van Schoor NM, van Staa TP, Vila J, Wareham NJ, Wright NC, Yoshimura N, Zillikens MC, Zwart M, Harvey NC, Lorentzon M, Leslie WD, Kanis JA. Update of the fracture risk prediction tool FRAX: a systematic review of potential cohorts and analysis plan. Osteoporos Int. 2022 Oct;33(10):2103-2136. doi: 10.1007/s00198-022-06435-6. PMID: 35639106

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