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Forearm Fracture after Menopause May Mean Osteoporosis
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Posted on: 02/15/2001
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Recent studies show that when a post-menopausal woman fractures the lower end of her forearm radius bone, there's a 90% chance she has osteoporosis. If she does have osteoporosis, the chances double that she'll eventually have a hip fracture. And the odds are 50% that her hip fracture will result in death.
That's why it is critical that people at risk of osteoporosis get evaluated and treated sooner rather than later. Even small improvements in bone health can lower the possibility of future fractures due to osteoporosis. According to the authors, these facts should signal doctors to immediately start an evaluation and treatment plan when a post-menopausal woman fractures the lower part of her forearm radius bone.
But the results of this study showed that these patients only received adequate evaluation and treatment 24% of the time. The authors reached this conclusion by studying the medical claims of 1162 female patients over the age of 55 who had fractured their radius, a bone in their forearm. The study showed that doctors did tests to check the bone health in only 33 patients. They prescribed medication in only 262 cases.
The results showed a trend of fewer treatments as the age of the patients increased, presumably because doctors felt it was too late to do anything about the problem. However, the authors emphasize that administering treatment for elderly patients can still provide benefits to offset some of the problems caused by osteoporosis.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to guess that a postmenopausal woman with a fracture of the radius bone probably has osteoporosis. Doctors need to take this opportunity to check for osteoporosis, and treatments can begin right away if the diagnosis is made. "Medical treatment for these patients," conclude the authors, "could have a profound public health impact by decreasing the burden of future osteoporotic fractures."
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References:
Kevin B. Freedman, MD, MSCE, et al. Treatment of Osteoporosis: Are Physicians Missing an Opportunity? In The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. August 2000. Vol. 82-A. No. 8. Pp. 1063-1070.
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