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Biotech / Medical : Eli Lilly -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (423)	11/20/1998 9:03:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 642

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