Open AccessCorrelates of Initiation of Antifracture Therapy in Older Women with Low Bone Mineral Density
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of general internal medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.746
H-Index - 180
eISSN - 1525-1497
pISSN - 0884-8734
DOI - 10.1111/j.1525-1497.2006.00468_1.x
Subject(s) - medicine , bone mineral , osteoporosis , citation , bone density , physical therapy , family medicine , gerontology , library science , computer science
The National Osteoporosis Foundation recommends treating certain postmenopausal women with low bone density (BMD). Do physicians and patients adopt these recommendations? We used the Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study, in which older women, and their doctors, received a copy of their dual x‐ray absorptiometry scan. After 2 years, only 30% of those at risk started antifracture therapy; use was far less in black women, even after adjustment for BMD. This may reflect physicians' or patients' uncertainties about the value of treating low BMD, and the lack of data supporting antifracture medicine use in nonwhites. Improving osteoporosis treatment may require patient‐specific and provider‐targeted interventions in the clinic setting.