Estimates of the Proportion of Older White Men Who Would Be Recommended for Pharmacologic Treatment by the New US National Osteoporosis Foundation Guidelines
2010

Proportion of Older White Men Recommended for Osteoporosis Treatment

Sample size: 3887 publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Donaldson Meghan G, Cawthon Peggy M, Lui Lily Y, Schousboe John T, Ensrud Kristine E, Taylor Brent C, Cauley Jane A, Hillier Teresa A, Dam Thuy T, Curtis Jeff R, Black Dennis M, Bauer Douglas C, Orwoll Eric S, Cummings Steven R

Primary Institution: San Francisco Coordinating Center, California Pacific Medical Center

Hypothesis

What proportion of older white men would be recommended for pharmacologic treatment based on the new NOF guidelines?

Conclusion

The study estimates that about one-third of older white men aged 65 and older would be recommended for drug treatment for osteoporosis under the new NOF guidelines.

Supporting Evidence

  • 34% of US white men aged 65 years and older would be recommended for drug treatment.
  • 49% of men aged 75 years and older would be recommended for treatment.
  • Men in MrOS had higher femoral neck BMD values compared to those in NHANES III.

Takeaway

The new guidelines suggest that many older white men might need medicine to help with bone health, even if they don't have osteoporosis.

Methodology

Data from the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study (MrOS) was used to apply the NOF treatment guidelines and estimate the proportion of men recommended for treatment.

Potential Biases

The MrOS cohort may not represent the general population as it consists of community-dwelling volunteers who are generally healthier.

Limitations

The study may underestimate the proportion of men recommended for treatment as it only includes white men aged 65 and older and does not account for some treatment criteria.

Participant Demographics

Participants were community-dwelling white men aged 65 years and older.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1002/jbmr.55

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