Nation’s Scientific and Medical Bone Health Experts Call for Action On Dangers of Not Treating Osteoporosis More Aggressively
For a person with osteoporosis, diagnosed or undiagnosed, the fracture risk jumps three fold after the first fracture, according to a recent Icelandic study, Imminent Risk of Major Osteoporotic Fracture After Fracture. Three leading scientific and medical organizations - the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR), the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF), and the public-private partnership, the National Bone Health Alliance (NBHA) – urge healthcare professionals to increase diagnosis and patients to be aware of this risk.
Lead author Nicholas Harvey, MD, from the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom and his colleagues found that one year after the first major osteoporotic fracture, the risk of a second fracture tripled compared with the general study population and the risk factor was doubled even 10 years later.
The authors tracked results for 118,872 men and women born between the years 1907 and 1935 who participated in Reykjavik Study during 1967-1991, looking at fracture rates from the point of study entry until the end of 2012. Their findings were presented at the recent World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Disease held on April 14-17, 2016 in Malaga, Spain.
“Untreated osteoporosis is a public health crisis. Many of us see firsthand the ravages of this disease every day - pain, fractures, loss of mobility and independence, and diminished quality of life,” said Douglas P. Kiel, M.D., M.P.H., ASBMR President and Director of the Musculoskeletal Research Center and Senior Scientist for the Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife. “These results build on mounting evidence that identifying and treating patients after the first fracture is crucial to preventing suffering.”
“This new information makes it more important than ever that physicians and health care providers take immediate steps to evaluate and treat patients who have sustained an osteoporotic fracture,” said Dr. Robert F. Gagel, Professor of Medicine, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, NOF President and NBHA Co-Chair. “At present, only 26% of patients who sustain their first osteoporotic fracture are evaluated and treated, putting large numbers of patients at risk for subsequent life altering and preventable fractures – a travesty we must work to fix.”
“These finding support our focus on secondary fracture prevention and closing the 70 to 80 percent care gap for testing and treatment for patients over the age of 50 who experience a fracture,” added Dr. Robert Adler, Professor of Internal Medicine, Epidemiology and Community Health, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Chief, Endocrinology and Metabolism, McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and NBHA Co-Chair.
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About the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research:
The American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) is the leading professional, scientific and medical society established to bring together clinical and experimental scientists involved in the study of bone and mineral metabolism. ASBMR encourages and promotes the study of this expanding field through annual scientific meetings, an official journal (Journal of Bone and Mineral Research®), the Primer on Metabolic Bone Diseases and Disorders of Mineral Metabolism, advocacy and interaction with government agencies and related societies. To learn more about upcoming meetings and publications, please visit www.asbmr.org.
About the National Bone Health Alliance
Established in 2010, the National Bone Health Alliance is a public-private partnership that brings together the expertise and resources of its 50 non-profit and private sector members (in addition to its 5 government liaisons) to promote bone health and prevent disease; improve diagnosis and treatment of bone disease; and enhance bone research, surveillance and evaluation. NBHA is a platform that allows all voices in the bone health community to work together around shared priorities and develop projects that can become reality through pooled funding. For more information on NBHA, visit www.nbha.org.
About the National Osteoporosis Foundation
Established in 1984, the National Osteoporosis Foundation is the nation’s leading health organization dedicated to preventing osteoporosis and broken bones, promoting strong bones for life and reducing human suffering through programs of awareness, education, advocacy and research. For more information on the National Osteoporosis Foundation, visit www.nof.org.
Contact Info:
Amanda Darvill, ASBMR, 202-367-2302.
David Lee, NBHA, 703-647-3003
Claire Gill, NOF, 703-647-2035