Background
Broken bones cause pain, disability, and time out of work in adulthood. Most of what we currently know about the causes of broken bones comes from research on children, adolescents, and the elderly. Little is known about what contributes to the risk of broken bones in people through mid-life.

This project will focus on how different levels of physical activity and body composition, i.e. bone strength and weight, may change the risk of a broken bone in people from early adulthood to mid-life (age 30-60).

Your approach
I will use data collected from large groups of people over many years, including the UK Biobank and the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. These data sets have measures of physical activity, obesity, bone fragility and individual genetic data, as well as information on the outcomes of broken bones in adults aged 30-60. I will use classic epidemiology techniques and recent genetically-informed approaches to better understand the complex relationships between physical activity, body composition and broken bones.

Expected impact
Better understanding of the causes of broken bones in middle-aged adults will enable early targeted preventative strategies and hope to reduce the burden of fractures in later life.