Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) today announced new data presented from a cross-sectional study revealing a gap in the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis in Europe. The real-world study of osteoporosis management in primary care revealed that 75 percent of female patients aged 70 years and older who were at increased risk of fragility fractures were not treated for osteoporosis. The treatment gap was much lower in those with a recorded diagnosis of osteoporosis than in those without a recorded diagnosis. The results of the study, which was performed across eight European countries, were presented during the World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases (WCO-IOF-ESCEO), in Paris from April 4-7, 2019.
“This study assessed patterns of real-world osteoporosis diagnosis and medical treatment in the European primary care setting,” said Eugene McCloskey, M.D., FRCPI, Professor of Adult Bone Diseases at The University of Sheffield and Director of the MRC Arthritis Research UK Centre for Integrated Research in Musculoskeletal Ageing. “Based on the results, future strategies need to increase awareness and facilitate the diagnosis of patients at risk in order to improve the treatment of osteoporosis and prevent fragility fractures from happening.”
The study enrolled 3,798 women aged 70 years or older after spontaneously visiting their primary care physician for any reason, not specifically related to their bone health. The primary outcome of the study was to assess the proportion of patients at increased risk of fragility fracture who were not receiving osteoporosis medication. Nearly 55 percent (n=2,077/3,798) of patients were considered to be at increased risk of fragility fracture, with 75 percent (n=1,550/2,077) of them not being medically treated for osteoporosis. Further, the study showed that among these untreated patients at risk for fracture, 85 percent (n=1,318/1,550) had no recorded diagnosis of osteoporosis.
“This real-world study further proves that an underdiagnosis of osteoporosis in Europe is a major barrier to treatment,” said David M. Reese, M.D., executive vice president of Research and Development at Amgen. “The finding that the vast majority of patients at increased risk of fracture remain untreated underscores the drastic need for better osteoporosis management and reinforces our ongoing commitment to help address this worldwide public health crisis1 and improve the care for millions of people living with this disease.”
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