UC San Diego

Objectives

To determine the proportion of untreated women who reported receiving treatment after incident fracture and to identify factors that predict treatment across an international spectrum of individuals.

Design

Prospective observational study. Self-administered questionnaires were mailed at baseline and 1 year.

Setting

Multinational cohort of noninstitutionalized women recruited from 723 primary physician practices in 10 countries.

Participants

Sixty thousand three hundred ninety-three postmenopausal women aged 55 and older were recruited with a 2:1 oversampling of women aged 65 and older.

Measurements

Data collected included participant demographics, medical history, fracture occurrence, medications, and risk factors for fracture. Anti-osteoporosis medications (AOMs) included estrogen, selective estrogen receptor modulators, bisphosphonates, calcitonin, parathyroid hormone, and strontium.

Results

After the first year of follow-up, 1,075 women reported an incident fracture. Of these, 17% had started AOM, including 15% of those with a single fracture and 35% with multiple fractures. Predictors of treatment included baseline calcium use (P = .01), baseline diagnosis of osteoporosis (P < .001), and fracture type (P < .001). In multivariable analysis, women taking calcium supplements at baseline (odds ratio (OR) = 1.67) and with a baseline diagnosis of osteoporosis (OR = 2.55) were more likely to be taking AOM. Hip fracture (OR = 2.61), spine fracture (OR = 6.61), and multiple fractures (OR = 3.79) were associated with AOM treatment. Age, global region, and use of high-risk medications were not associated with treatment.

Conclusion

More than 80% of older women with new fractures were not treated, despite the availability of AOM. Important factors associated with treatment in this international cohort included diagnosis of osteoporosis before the incident fracture, spine fracture, and to a lesser degree, hip fracture.