Osteoporotic fragility fractures, that are common in men and women, signal increased risk of future fractures and of premature mortality. Less than one-third of postmenopausal women and fewer men are ...prescribed active treatments to reduce fracture risk. Therefore, in this study the association of oral bisphosphonate recommendation with subsequent fracture and mortality over eight years in a fracture liaison service setting was analysed.
In this prospective cohort study, 5011 men and women aged >50 years, who sustained a clinical fracture, accepted the invitation to attend the fracture liaison service of the West Glasgow health service between 1999 and 2007. These patients were fully assessed and all were recommended calcium and vitamin D. Based on pre-defined fracture risk criteria, 2534 (50.7%) patients were additionally also recommended oral bisphosphonates. Mortality and subsequent fracture risk were the pre-defined outcomes analysed using Cox proportional hazard models.
Those recommended bisphosphonates were more often female (82.9 vs. 72.4%), were older (73.4 vs. 64.4 years), had lower bone mineral density T-score (-3.1 vs. -1.5) and more had sustained hip fractures (21.7 vs. 6.2%; p < 0.001). After adjustments, patients recommended bisphosphonates had lower subsequent fracture risk (Hazard Ratio (HR): 0.60; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.49-0.73) and lower mortality risk (HR: 0.79, 95%CI: 0.64-0.97).
Of the patients, who are fully assessed after a fracture at the fracture liaison service, those with higher fracture risk and a recommendation for bisphosphonates had worse baseline characteristics. However, after adjusting for these differences, those recommended bisphosphonate treatment had a substantially lower risk for subsequent fragility fracture and lower risk for mortality. These community-based data indicate the adverse public health outcomes and mortality impacts of the current low treatment levels post fracture could be improved by bisphosphonate recommendation for both subsequent fracture and mortality.
At presentation with a fracture, 26.5% of evaluated patients have previously unknown contributors to secondary osteoporosis and metabolic bone diseases and 63.9% vitamin D deficiency.
Background:
...Previously undetected contributors to secondary osteoporosis and metabolic bone diseases (SECOB) are frequently found in patients with osteoporosis, but the prevalence in patients at the time they present with a clinical fracture is unknown.
Methods:
All consecutive patients with a recent clinical vertebral or nonvertebral fracture, who were able and willing to be investigated (n = 626: 482 women, 144 men, age range 50–97 yr) had bone mineral density and laboratory investigations (serum calcium, inorganic phosphate, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, creatinine, intact PTH, TSH, free T4, serum and urine protein electrophoresis, and in men also serum testosterone).
Results:
Known SECOB contributors were present in 23.0% of patients and newly diagnosed SECOB contributors in 26.5%: monoclonal proteinemia (14 of 626), renal insufficiency grade III or greater (54 of 626), primary (17 of 626) and secondary (64 of 626) hyperparathyroidism, hyperthyroidism (39 of 626), and hypogonadism in men (12 of 144). Newly diagnosed SECOBs, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D less than 50 nmol/liter (in 63.9%), and dietary calcium intake less than 1200 mg/d (in 90.6%) were found at any age, in both sexes, after any fracture (except SECOB in men with finger and toe fractures) and at any level of bone mineral density.
Conclusion:
At presentation with a fracture, 26.5% of patients have previously unknown contributors to SECOB, which are treatable or need follow-up, and more than 90% of patients have an inadequate vitamin D status and/or calcium intake. Systematic screening of patients with a recent fracture identifies those in whom potentially reversible contributors to SECOB and calcium and vitamin D deficiency are present.
Computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging, and bone scintigraphy are second-line imaging techniques that are frequently used for the evaluation of patients with a clinically suspected ...scaphoid fracture. However, as a result of varying diagnostic performance results, no true reference standard exists for scaphoid fracture diagnosis. We hypothesized that the use of high-resolution peripheral quantitative CT (HR-pQCT) in patients with a clinically suspected scaphoid fracture could improve scaphoid fracture detection compared with conventional CT in the clinical setting.
The present study included 91 consecutive patients (≥18 years of age) who presented to the emergency department with a clinically suspected scaphoid fracture between December 2017 and October 2018. All patients were clinically reassessed within 14 days after first presentation, followed by CT and HR-pQCT. If a scaphoid fracture was present, the fracture type was determined according to the Herbert classification system and correlation between CT and HR-pQCT was estimated with use of the Kendall W statistic or coefficient of concordance (W) (the closer to 1, the higher the correlation).
The cohort included 45 men and 46 women with a median age of 52 years (interquartile range, 29 to 67 years). HR-pQCT revealed a scaphoid fracture in 24 patients (26%), whereas CT revealed a scaphoid fracture in 15 patients (16%). Patients with a scaphoid fracture were younger and more often male. The correlation between CT and HR-pQCT was high for scaphoid fracture type according to the Herbert classification system (W = 0.793; 95% confidence interval CI, 0.57 to 0.91; p < 0.001) and very high for scaphoid fracture location (W = 0.955; 95%, CI 0.90 to 0.98; p < 0.001).
In the present study, the number of patients diagnosed with a scaphoid fracture was 60% higher when using HR-pQCT as compared with CT. These findings imply that a substantial proportion of fractures-in this study, more than one-third-will be missed by the current application of CT scanning in patients with a clinically suspected scaphoid fracture.
Diagnostic Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Summary
We studied sex-specific incidence rates in a population 50 years or older in the UK. In the period of 1990–2012, the overall rate of fracture did not change, but there were marked secular ...alterations in the rates of individual fracture types, particularly hip and spine fractures in the elderly.
Introduction
There is increasing evidence of secular changes in age- and sex- adjusted fracture incidence globally. Such observations broadly suggest decreasing rates in developed countries and increasing rates in transitioning populations. Since altered fracture rates have major implications for healthcare provision and planning, we investigated secular changes to age- and sex-adjusted fracture risk amongst the UK population aged 50 years or above from 1990 till 2012.
Methods
We undertook a retrospective observational study using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), which contains the health records of 6.9 % of the UK population. Site-specific fracture incidence was calculated by calendar year for men and women separately, with fracture type categorised according to ICD-9 classification. Linear regression analysis was used to calculate mean annualised change in absolute incidence. For presentational purposes, mean rates in the first 5 years and last 5 years of the period were calculated.
Results
Overall fracture incidence was unchanged in both women and men from 1990 to 2012. The incidence of hip fracture remained stable amongst women (1990–1994 33.8 per 10,000 py; 2008–2012 33.5 per 10,000 py;
p
trend annualised change in incidence = 0.80) but rose in men across the same period (10.8 to 13.4 per 10,000 py;
p
= 0.002). Clinical vertebral fractures became more common in women (8.9 to 11.8 per 10,000 py;
p
= 0.005) but remained comparable in men (4.6 to 5.9 per 10,000 py;
p
= 0.72). Similarly, the frequency of radius/ulna fractures did not change in men (9.6 to 9.6 per 10,000 py;
p
= 0.25), but, in contrast, became less frequent in women (50.4 to 41.2 per 10,000 py;
p
= 0.001). Secular trends amongst fractures of the carpus, scapula, humerus, foot, pelvis, skull, clavicle, ankle, patella, and ribs varied according to fracture site and sex.
Conclusion
Although overall sex-specific fracture incidence in the UK population 50 years or over appears to have remained stable over the last two decades, there have been noticeable changes in rates of individual fracture types. Given that the impact of a fracture on morbidity, mortality, and health economy varies according to fracture site, these data inform the provision of healthcare services in the UK and elsewhere.
Given the expected increase in the number of patients with osteoporosis and fragility fractures it is important to have concise information on trends in prescription rates of anti-osteoporosis drugs ...(AOD).
We undertook a retrospective observational study using the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) in the UK between 1990 and 2012 in subjects 50years or older, stratified by age, sex, geographic region and ethnicity. Yearly prescription incidence rates of any AOD and of each specific AOD were calculated as the number of patients first prescribed these AODs per 10,000person-years (py).
In women, yearly rates of first prescription of any AOD increased from 1990 to 2006 (from 2.3 to 169.7 per 10,000py), followed by a plateau and a 12% decrease in the last three years. In men, a less steep increase from 1990 to 2007 (from 1.4 to 45.3 per 10,000py) was followed by a plateau from 2008 onwards. Yearly rates of first prescription of any AOD increased up to the age of 85–89years (248.9 per 10,000py in women and 119.3 in men). There were marked differences between ethnic groups and regions. Bisphosphonates were the most frequently prescribed AODs: etidronate till 2000, and then subsequently alendronate.
We have demonstrated marked secular changes in rates of anti-osteoporosis drug prescription over the last two decades. The plateau (and decrease amongst women) in rates in recent years, set against an ever ageing population, is worrying, suggesting that the well-documented care gap in osteoporosis treatment persists. The differences in prescription rates by geographic location and ethnicity raise intriguing questions in relation to underlying fracture rates, provision of care and health behaviour.
We studied the prescription incidence of anti-osteoporosis drugs (AOD) from 1990 to 2012 in the UK CPRD. Overall AOD prescription incidence showed a strong increase from 1990 to 2006, followed by a plateau in both sexes and a decrease amongst women in the last three years.
•In UK CPRD we documented rates of anti-osteoporosis treatment by age, sex, ethnicity, geographic location and calendar time.•In women, annual rates of first prescription increased from 1990-2006 followed by a plateau and a 12% decrease 2009-2012.•In men, prescription rates increased less steeply from 1990-2007 and then levelled from 2008 onwards.•There were marked differences in anti-osteoporosis treatment rates by ethnicity and geographic location within the UK.
Introduction
The aim of this study was to investigate the associations of patient characteristics, bone mineral density (BMD), bone microarchitecture and calculated bone strength with secondary ...displacement of a DRF based on radiographic alignment parameters.
Materials and methods
Dorsal angulation, radial inclination and ulnar variance were assessed on conventional radiographs of a cohort of 251 patients, 38 men and 213 women, to determine the anatomic position of the DRF at presentation (primary position) and during follow-up.
Secondary fracture displacement was assessed in the non-operatively treated patients (
N
= 154) with an acceptable position, preceded (
N
= 97) or not preceded (
N
= 57) by primary reduction (baseline position). Additionally, bone microarchitecture and calculated bone strength at the contralateral distal radius and tibia were assessed by HR-pQCT in a subset of, respectively, 63 and 71 patients.
Outcome
Characteristics of patients with and without secondary fracture displacement did not differ. In the model with adjustment for primary reduction OR 22.00 (2.27–212.86),
p
= 0.008, total OR 0.16 (95% CI 0.04–0.68),
p
= 0.013 and cortical OR 0.19 (95% CI 0.05–0.80,
p
= 0.024 volumetric BMD (vBMD) and cortical thickness OR 0.13 (95% CI 0.02–0.74),
p
= 0.021 at the distal radius were associated with secondary DRF displacement. No associations were found for other patient characteristics, such as age gender, BMD or prevalent vertebral fractures.
Conclusions
In conclusion, our study indicates that besides primary reduction, cortical bone quality may be important for the risk of secondary displacement of DRFs.
Improving the clinical outcome of scaphoid fractures may benefit from adequate monitoring of their healing in order to for example identify complications such as scaphoid nonunion at an early stage ...and to adjust the treatment strategy accordingly. However, quantitative assessment of the healing process is limited with current imaging modalities. In this study, high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) was used for the first time to assess the changes in bone density, microarchitecture, and strength during the healing of conservatively-treated scaphoid fractures. Thirteen patients with a scaphoid fracture (all confirmed on HR-pQCT and eleven on CT) received an HR-pQCT scan at baseline and three, six, twelve, and 26 weeks after first presentation at the emergency department. Bone mineral density (BMD) and trabecular microarchitecture of the scaphoid bone were quantified, and failure load (FL) was estimated using micro-finite element analysis. Longitudinal changes were evaluated with linear mixed-effects models. Data of two patients were excluded due to surgical intervention after the twelve-week follow-up visit. In the eleven fully evaluable patients, the fracture line became more apparent at 3 weeks. At 6 weeks, individual trabeculae at the fracture region became more difficult to identify and distinguish from neighboring trabeculae, and this phenomenon concerned a larger region around the fracture line at 12 weeks. Quantitative assessment showed that BMD and FL were significantly lower than baseline at all follow-up visits with the largest change from baseline at 6 weeks (−13.6% and − 23.7%, respectively). BMD remained unchanged thereafter, while FL increased. Trabecular thickness decreased significantly from baseline at three (−3.9%), six (−6.7%), and twelve (−4.4%) weeks and trabecular number at six (−4.5%), twelve (−7.3%), and 26 (−7.9%) weeks. Trabecular separation was significantly higher than baseline at six (+13.3%), twelve (+19.7%), and 26 (+16.3%) weeks. To conclude, this explorative HR-pQCT study showed a substantial decrease in scaphoid BMD, Tb.Th, and FL during the first 6 weeks of healing of conservatively-treated scaphoid fractures, followed by stabilization or increase in these parameters. At 26 weeks, BMD, trabecular microarchitecture, and FL were not returned to baseline values.
•HR-pQCT can be used to assess the healing process of scaphoid fractures.•Density and failure load significantly decreased until 6 weeks post-fracture.•Density and failure load were not returned to baseline 26 weeks post-fracture.•The healing of scaphoid fractures seems slower than that of distal radius fractures.
Summary
In this retrospective cohort study using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), patients with sarcoidosis have an increased risk of clinical vertebral fractures and when on recent ...treatment with oral glucocorticoids, also an increased risk of any fractures and osteoporotic fractures.
Introduction
Sarcoidosis is a chronic inflammatory disease, in which fragility fractures have been reported despite normal BMD. The aim of this study was to assess whether patients with sarcoidosis have an increased risk of clinical fractures compared to the general population.
Methods
A retrospective cohort study was conducted using the CPRD. All patients with a CPRD code for sarcoidosis between January 1987 and September 2012 were included. Cox proportional hazards models were used to derive adjusted relative risks (RRs) of fractures in all sarcoidosis patients compared to matched controls, and within the sarcoidosis group according to use and dose of systemic glucocorticoids.
Results
Five thousand seven hundred twenty-two sarcoidosis patients (mean age 48.0 years, 51 % females, mean follow-up 6.7 years) were identified.
Compared to 28,704 matched controls, the risk of any fracture was not different in patients with sarcoidosis. However, the risk of clinical vertebral fractures was significantly increased (adj RR 1.77; 95 % CI 1.06–2.96) and the risk of non-vertebral fractures was decreased although marginally significant (adj RR 0.87; 95 % CI 0.77–0.99). Compared to sarcoidosis patients not taking glucocorticoids, recent use of systemic glucocorticoids was associated with an increased risk of any fracture (adj RR 1.50; 95 % CI 1.20–1.89) and of an osteoporotic fracture (adj RR 1.47; 95 % CI 1.07–2.02).
Conclusions
Patients with sarcoidosis have an increased risk of clinical vertebral fractures, and when using glucocorticoid therapy, an increased risk of any fractures and osteoporotic fractures. In contrast, the risk of non-vertebral fractures maybe decreased. Further investigation is needed to understand the underlying mechanisms of these contrasting effects on fracture risk.
Summary
In this small cross-sectional study of predominantly well-treated participants with relatively short-term type 2 diabetes duration, HbA1c > 7% (53 mmol/mol) was associated with lower cortical ...density and thickness and higher cortical porosity at the distal radius, lower trabecular thickness at the distal tibia, and higher trabecular number at both sites.
Introduction
To examine the association between diabetes status and volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD), bone microarchitecture and strength of the distal radius and tibia as assessed with HR-pQCT. Additionally—in participants with type 2 diabetes (T2DM), to examine the association between HbA1c, diabetes duration, and microvascular disease (MVD) and bone parameters.
Methods
Cross-sectional data from 410 (radius) and 198 (tibia) participants of The Maastricht Study (mean age 58 year, 51% female). Diabetes status (normal glucose metabolism, prediabetes, or T2DM) was based on an oral glucose tolerance test and medication history.
Results
After full adjustment, prediabetes and T2DM were not associated with vBMD, bone microarchitecture, and strength of the radius and tibia, except for lower trabecular number (Tb.N) of the tibia (− 4%) in prediabetes and smaller cross-sectional area of the tibia (− 7%) in T2DM. In T2DM, HbA1c > 7% was associated with lower cortical vBMD (− 5%), cortical thickness (− 16%), higher cortical porosity (+ 20%) and Tb.N (+ 9%) of the radius, and higher Tb.N (+ 9%) and lower trabecular thickness (− 13%) of the tibia. Diabetes duration > 5 years was associated with higher Tb.N (+ 6%) of the radius. The presence of MVD was not associated with any bone parameters.
Conclusions
In this study with predominantly well-treated T2DM participants with relatively short-term diabetes duration, inadequate blood glucose control was negatively associated with cortical bone measures of the radius. In contrast, trabecular number was increased at both sites. Studies of larger sample size are warranted for more detailed investigations of bone density and bone quality in patients with T2DM.
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