SCOTS are among the most likely to suffer a broken bone at some point in their lives compared to anywhere else in the UK, new research has found.

Deprivation, rural life and the high prevalence of manual work were blamed for the high fracture rate, which is 50 per cent greater than that found in London.

Researchers at the University of Southampton examined data from 11.3 million people, provided by GP surgeries across the UK.

Overall, the fracture rate was higher for women over the age of 50 years old, which was said to be 155 per 10,000 people a year, compared to men over the age of 50, which was 72 per 10,000 persons per year.

However, in Scotland, the rate was estimated to be 179 per 10,000 for women of the same and, and 86 for men, while in London it was 133 for women and 59 for men.

Scotland had the second highest rate out of anywhere in the UK, behind Northern Ireland, where it was said to be 95 for men and 183 for women.

Scientists said that high rates of smoking and other adverse lifestyle factors were also behind the figures.

Professor Nicholas Harvey said: "Our study has provided insights into factors that may influence fracture rates across different sections of the population.

"Further work will be needed to fully understand what underlies these differences, for example variations in diet, lifestyle, body build, employment and genetic factors may all contribute.

"However, our demonstration of differences in fracture rates by ethnicity, socioeconomic status and location will clearly be helpful in targeting health resources to those at greatest risk.

"Given the high rates of fracture, particularly in the elderly, and the impact in terms of pain, immobility and potentially reduced survival, our findings provide real support for health prevention strategies."

White men and women had substantially greater fracture rates than Asian individuals. Black people had the lowest - suffering fewer than half as many as white individuals.

Women tend to have smaller, thinner bones than men and are also more likely to suffer the bone wasting disease osteoporosis.

The research team examined whether fracture risk varied according to age, sex, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and place of residence by analysing the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink database.

Fizz Thompson, of the National Osteoporosis Society which funded the study, said: "Broken bones can have a devastating impact on people's lives. No one should be left at greater risk because of where they live or how much money they have in their pocket.

"This research should act as an urgent wake up call to local NHS decision makers. If they do not act decisively to prevent future fractures, local hospitals and GPs will continue to see fracture after fracture, at great cost to the NHS and even greater cost in quality of life.

"They can begin to solve this problem by having the right services and staffing in place to systematically identify those at high risk of breaking bones, assess them for osteoporosis and start them on treatment."

He added: "Having top quality Fracture Liaison Services is key to this. They are the proven and cost effective way of preventing fractures, saving the NHS money and improving the quality of people's lives.

"That is why the National Osteoporosis Society is working in partnership with health professionals across the UK to ensure everyone has access to these life changing services."