Undertreatment of Osteoporosis Following Hip Fractures in Jeju Cohort Study

Abstract

Background: Osteoporosis treatment following hip fracture is well known to not enough. We previously performed intervention study for orthopaedic surgeon’s education andreported twofold increase in osteoporosis detection and treatment rate observed be-tween 2005 and 2007. This follow-up observational study was conducted to find out therate in which a diagnostic workup and treatment for osteoporosis were done in patientswith hip fracture. Methods: Medical records and radiographs in patients who were olderthan 50 years and diagnosed as having femoral neck or intertrochanteric fractures at 8hospitals in Jeju island, South Korea from 2008 to 2011 were reviewed. The numbers ofpatients who were studied with bone densitometry and who were treated for osteopo-rosis after the diagnosis of hip fracture were analyzed. Results: Nine hundred forty fivehip fractures (201 in 2008, 257 in 2009, 265 in 2010, and 304 in 2011) occurred in 191men and 754 women during the study periods. The mean age of the patients was 79.7years. The mean rate of osteoporosis detection using dual energy X-ray absorptiometrywas 36.4% (344/945 hips) (ranged from 24.2% in 2009 to 40.5% in 2011). The mean initi-ation rate of osteoporosis treatment was 23.1% (218/945 hips) (ranged from 20% in2009 to 29% in 2008). Conclusions: Detection and treatment rate of osteoporosis fol-lowing hip fracture during follow-up periods was still not enough. Additional interven-tion studies are required to further improvement of osteoporosis treatment rates afterhip fracture.