Osteoporosis News

Patients with osteoporosis preferred 6-month subcutaneous injections and oral monthly tablets compared with other treatment methods, according to recent study results.

Two million fractures per year are attributed to osteoporosis, and with an increasing elderly population, this number is expected to double by 2040. Despite these numbers and the increasing economic burden of these fractures, published studies show that only 20% of patients with osteoporosis are receiving proper treatment and prevention measures.

Osteoporosis is the progressive loss of bone mass and density. The World Health Organization defines osteoporosis as a bone mineral density of 2.5 standard deviations or more below the mean peak bone mass for average of young, healthy adults as measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Primary type 1 osteoporosis, the most common type, occurs in women after menopause.

Using an automated system to identify patients being treated for fractures who are at high risk for osteoporosis and generating letters to these patients to encourage follow-up can be an effective way to promote osteoporosis intervention and prevent fractures, according to results from Penn State College of Medicine researchers that were published in Geriatric Orthopaedic Surgery & Rehabilitation.

Teriparatide therapy significantly increased hip and spine bone mineral density and estimated bone strength in adults with mild osteogenesis imperfecta, recent data suggest.

A study conducted by University of California, Los Angeles, researchers found that men who marry for the first time before the age 25 have lower bone density in the spine than those who marry at an older age. Moreover, researchers discovered a significant reduction in bone strength for each year men married before age 25.  

Patients who experience a second hip fracture have a higher mortality rate compared with patients who have a single fracture, according to a study recently published in Osteoporosis International. Researchers evaluated the overall incidence of a second hip fracture and subsequent mortality for 43,832 patients. The patients were aged 65 years or older, with a mean age of 82 years, and had an operatively treated first hip fracture from 2000 to 2011.

Romosozumab was associated with increased bone mineral density and bone formation and with decreased bone resorption in postmenopausal women with low bone mass, according to results from a 1-year phase 2 study.

According to a report issued by the International Osteoporosis Foundation, fracture due to osteoporosis poses to be a major health issue in Hong Kong, where the aging population is increasing rapidly.

A new study showed that patients who suffered a Colles’ fracture are six times more likely than controls to suffer a subsequent hip fracture.   In the study, which was presented at a recent Osteoporosis Foundation meeting in Hong Kong, researchers T.-L. Huang and C.-W. Chen, of China Medical University, in Chinese Taipei, showed that hip fracture incidence was highest within 1 month after subjects sustained a Colles’ fracture and that hip fracture incidence increased with age.