This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on Web of Science (31)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Women's Health  • Women's Health, Other  • Alert me on articles by topic  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Teresa C. Gallagher, PhD; Olga Geling, PhD; Florence Comite, MD

Arch Intern Med. 2002;162:450-456.

Background  Osteoporotic fracture is a growing public health problem burden to society. Despite the importance of physician practices in preventing it, relatively little is known about the osteoporosis-related practices of US physicians.

Methods  A total of 1500 female members of a Connecticut independent practice association model health plan (aged 40-69 years) were surveyed to identify women's receipt of osteoporosis-related services (eg, prevention counseling, bone mineral density [BMD] testing, and communication about treatment options). These findings were compared with recommendations of the US Preventive Services Task Force and the National Osteoporosis Foundation. We received 1007 completed questionnaires, for a response rate of 69%.

Results  Only 49% of the sample reported that a health care provider ever discussed osteoporosis with them. In multivariate analyses, women with multiple risk factors were not more likely than other women to have been counseled about osteoporosis and its prevention, although those with an osteopenia/osteoporosis diagnosis were. In contrast to National Osteoporosis Foundation recommendations, only a small minority of high-risk women (12%-34%) had their BMD tested. Although most women with an osteopenia/osteoporosis diagnosis reported receiving information on estrogen replacement therapy, calcium, and weight-bearing exercise, fewer reported receiving information on pharmaceutical alternatives to estrogen (33%) and vitamin D (20%).

Conclusions  The main trigger to physician counseling of women about osteoporosis and its prevention is an osteopenia/osteoporosis diagnosis. Women with multiple risk factors for osteoporosis are not being identified for preventive counseling interventions or BMD testing.

From the Departments of Community Health (Dr Gallagher) and Statistics (Dr Geling), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn (Dr Comite).

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Osteoporosis Screening: Time to Take Responsibility
Mazanec
Arch Intern Med 2004;164:1047-1048.
FULL TEXT  

Aging Bone and Osteoporosis: Strategies for Preventing Fractures in the Elderly
Ettinger
Arch Intern Med 2003;163:2237-2246.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT