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Thomas Dworetzky, Contributing Reporter | June 06, 2016
Compounding the fear, ignorance that they even have osteoporosis is widespread among older adults who have broken a hip – almost always a sign that bone-weakening is present. A recent Northwell Health survey showed that 7 of 10 such patients “aren't told they have” the disease at all.
"You can die after a hip fracture, and you're at great risk of prolonged complications," senior author Dr. Gisele Wolf-Klein, director of geriatric education for Northwell Health, said in a statement. "You can also be left as an invalid, a fear of many older adults. When we think about how preventable hip fractures are, the fact that most patients aren't told or understand they have osteoporosis – a disease that can be treated – is an enormous problem."
The survey found that 57 percent of patients said hospital doctors hadn't advised taking prescription osteoporosis drugs post hip fracture, and 36 percent of those polled weren't given any prescriptions for them. Worse, fully 64 percent were taking calcium and vitamin D to treat bone-weakening. The Northwell study authors called this approach "useless" for prevention of osteoporotic fractures.
The survey also reported that 38 percent of its participants had a fall within a year of their fractures and 44 percent of these patients had an additional fracture.
"These numbers show the need to improve our overall treatment plan for osteoporosis, which includes fall-prevention education for patients and their families," noted study author and Northwell geriatric fellow Dr. Mia Barnett. "We can definitely get that re-fracture number lower if patients are treated with osteoporosis medications."
But resistance to the use of these drugs is strong, the researchers found. Even after a hip fracture half were unsure, and a quarter rejected their use outright. Only 25 percent agreed to take such drugs.
"There's an enormous amount of misunderstanding about osteoporosis among the public and lack of education from physicians taking care of patients," advised co-investigator Dr. Stuart Weinerman, an endocrinologist at Northwell Health. "Doctors don't talk about it and the perception is that these osteoporosis drugs are dangerous or not effective. Unfortunately, these misperceptions are just incorrect. So a lot of public education needs to be done, but it should start with physicians."
These researchers presented their findings at The American Geriatrics Society's 2016 Annual Scientific Meeting in May.
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