A free online tool developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to calculate an individual's risk of sustaining bone fractures has been modified specifically for Taiwan users and was launched this month, a doctor associated with the project said Tuesday. The WHO Fracture Risk Assessment tool (FRAX) estimates how likely it is that someone might sustain a bone fracture related to low bone mass density, over a 10-year period. FRAX, which first launched in Europe in 2007, calculates factors such as an individual's age, sex, weight, height and medical history. 'However, the original calculation tool was not suitable for Taiwan, therefore, medical professionals here made a joint effort to provide national epidemiological data for the development of a specific country model for Taiwan,' said Tsai Keh-sung, vice superintendent of National Taiwan University Hospital. On the website -- http: //www.sheffield.ac.uk/FRAX/tool.jsp? lang=en -- users are asked to answer yes or no to seven questions on risk factors such as their personal and family history of fractures. The questions also include information on smoking and alcohol consumption, confirmed diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis and other conditions strongly associated with osteoporosis. 'Drinking three standard bottles of beer (300 c.c.) or three medium-sized glass of wine (120ml) a day increases the fracture risk factor twofold, ' Tsai said at a press conference. He said that a bone mineral density (BMD) test is not necessarily required to calculate fracture risk. 'If the calculation tool -- even without a BMD test result -- finds that there is a very low risk of fracture, then there is no need to waste time and money to test the BMD,' Tsai said. If an individual's fracture risk is high, they can seek medical treatment without taking a BMD test, he stressed. However, it will require a large scale study and more discussions to decide what level should be considered as high risk among Taiwanese, he added. 