Osteoporosis has a significant impa...

Osteoporosis has a significant impact forward the cost of health care in the United States. fresh studies have shown that physic therapies are available that effectively shorten the risk of osteoporotic fractures in postmenopausal women At the same time as the advances have occurr systems of screening and identifying women at risk for developing osteoporosis have improved. Tosteson and colleagues assessed the factors associated with early discontinuation of treatment with the three medications prescribed for women with cheap bone density.

Three classes of medications are available to treat osteoporosis: hormone therapy, bisphosphonates, and selective estrogen-receptor modulators. The efficacy of these agents is affected from patient compliance with the regimens. outcomes of previous studies have shown that women who start hormone therapy do not continue taking these medications in the drawn out term. No current studies evaluate the discontinuation rate for osteoporosis therapy with bisphosphonates or selective estrogen-receptor modulators.

The authors escorted a telephone survey of women who had T scores upon dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) that were consistent with osteopenia or osteoporosis and who had started taking hormone therapy, raloxifene, or alendronate. Women who had not been treated previously for osteoporosis were eligible. The sample was choiceed randomly from all eligible women who were registered in a large health organization. The reviews were conducted within four to 12 month after therapy began.

The scrutinize questions were used to gather information about each woman's health history, health status, and knowledge and attitudes about her health. In addition, information onward the reasons for starting therapy, the representations of side effects experienced, and the reasons for discontinuation was recorded.

Of the 956 women involved in the research the rate of discontinuation was 26 percent in women using hormone therapy, 19 percent in women taking raloxifene, and 19 percent in women taking alendronate. Women with bothersome side meanings and women who thought their bone density criterion did not show osteoporosis were more likely to discontinue therapy. Women who exercised in succession a regular basis or were willing to take medications were more likely to continue their treatment regimen. After adjusting for side validitys and patient characteristics, the supernumerarys of early treatment discontinuation among the three clusters were not significantly different.

The authors judge that to improve adherence to osteoporosis treatment, side results have to be minimized, and women should be educated about the ends of their bone density trials An understanding of each woman's attitude toward potential side tenors of osteoporosis treatment may help health care professionals tailor the treatment regimens.

Tosteson AN, et al. Early discontinuation of treatment for osteoporosis. Am J M August 15 2003;115:209-16

COPYRIGHT 2004 American Academy of Family Physicians

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