Authors' objectives:

To provide an overview of activities and problems concerning osteoporosis, and thereby forward the diffusion of expert knowledge to the public.

Authors' results and conclusions: Afflicting mainly women, osteoporosis is a reduction in bone mass to an extent where fractures can easily occur. There is a high degree of consensus about appropriate surgical methods. However, results are poor, especially for the oldest groups of patients. Thirty percent continue to experience pain one year after operation. Treatment of crush fractures of the vertebrate is problematic, since there is no alternative to bed rest and pain killers. Only ten percent of crush fractures in the spine are treated in hospitals and approximately 50 percent of all cases do not present symptoms. Although rehabilitation is of great importance, the quality of it is not always adequate. A Danish study showed wide variations between four hospital departments. Early discharge tended to give poorer results.

Authors' recommendations: Osteoporosis was documented to be an important social problem. Diet, physical activity and treatment with estrogen, and to some extent other drugs, reduce the loss of bone mass. With no well-documented studies of the long-term effects of the various treatments of osteoporosis, the panel does not support a screening strategy. Danish calculations based on estrogen treatment offered to a high risk group show that a screening programme would lead to extra costs even though estrogen therapy would lead to fewer fractures and a reduction in hospital bed days. Treatment with estrogen increases the risk of breast cancer in women by 20-30 percent after approximately eight years of treatment. Other output or dissemination activity: Impact not evaluated.

Project Status: Completed

URL for project: http://www.dsi.dk/

Year Published: 1995

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Not Assigned

Country: Denmark

Organisation Name: Danish Institute for Health Services Research

Contact Address: DSI, PO Box 2595, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark Tel: +45 35 29 8400; Fax: +45 35 29 8499

Contact Name: hhj@dsi.dk

Contact Email: hhj@dsi.dk

Copyright: Danish Institute for Health Services Research (DSI)