Undertreatment of Osteoporosis Following Hip Fractures in Jeju Cohort Study

BACKGROUND Osteoporosis treatment following hip fracture is well known to not enough. We previously performed intervention study for orthopaedic surgeon's education and reported twofold increase in osteoporosis detection and treatment rate observed between 2005 and 2007. This follow-up observational study was conducted to find out the rate in which a diagnostic workup and treatment for osteoporosis were done in patients with hip fracture. METHODS Medical records and radiographs in patients who were older than 50 years and diagnosed as having femoral neck or intertrochanteric fractures at 8 hospitals in Jeju island, South Korea from 2008 to 2011 were reviewed. The numbers of patients who were studied with bone densitometry and who were treated for osteoporosis after the diagnosis of hip fracture were analyzed. RESULTS Nine hundred forty five hip fractures (201 in 2008, 257 in 2009, 265 in 2010, and 304 in 2011) occurred in 191 men and 754 women during the study periods. The mean age of the patients was 79.7 years. The mean rate of osteoporosis detection using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry was 36.4% (344/945 hips) (ranged from 24.2% in 2009 to 40.5% in 2011). The mean initiation rate of osteoporosis treatment was 23.1% (218/945 hips) (ranged from 20% in 2009 to 29% in 2008). CONCLUSIONS Detection and treatment rate of osteoporosis following hip fracture during follow-up periods was still not enough. Additional intervention studies are required to further improvement of osteoporosis treatment rates after hip fracture.