Most Osteoporosis Victims Unaware of Condition, Study Says
Bloomberg News
November 19, 1998, 6:36 p.m. ET
Most Osteoporosis Victims Unaware of Condition, Study Says
Washington, Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Most women who have a
bone-thinning condition known as osteoporosis are unaware that
the density of their bones has dropped to a hazardous level, a
large study suggests.
Of the 2,314 ''high-risk'' women included in the study,
about 17 percent had osteoporosis. However, only 7 percent of
women diagnosed with osteoporosis as part of the study were
already aware they suffered from the condition. Women with lower
incomes and fewer health care resources tended to be even less
likely to know they had the condition, the report said.
The study was funded by the federal government and released
today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Women were determined to be at risk for osteoporosis if they
had passed menopause -- which triggers a decline in bone mineral
density -- and had not started taking hormone replacement therapy
which, among other things, can slow down bone loss. Researchers
then had the women complete a questionnaire to determine their
level of education and awareness about osteoporosis and performed
scans to gauge the actual bone density in each woman.
Low bone mass and osteoporosis are the primary cause of the
300,000 hip fractures in the U.S. each year. Hip fractures cost
the U.S. health care system about $9 billion in direct medical
costs, the CDC said.
Even so, the study ran only through 1994, and may not
reflect increased awareness of the condition in recent months.
Treatments such as Merck & Co.'s Fosamax and Eli Lilly &
Co.'s Evista have allowed women to combat bone thinning once it
starts, or to prevent it before it happens. That has led to a
greater push among doctors and health groups to educate women.
--Kristin Reed in Washington (202) 624-1858 /mfr |
