Objectives
Osteoporosis is a systemic disease which is characterized by low bone mineral density and abnormal bone architecture, which subsequently leads to bone fractions. The most common types of osteoporosis are postmenopausal osteoporosis and corticosteroid-induced osteoporosis. Long-term treatment and high compliance are required in treatment of osteoporosis to successfully achieve the beneficial goal of reducing future fractures and enhancing quality of life. Hence, the primary objective of this disease registry study was to describe the therapeutic management trends for postmenopausal and corticosteroids-induced osteoporosis and to improve our understanding of the choice of medication prescribed by the physicians, whereas the secondary objectives were to characterize the factors influencing patient compliance and to collect inefficacy data and fracture data in compliant and noncompliant patients over long term (over 6 months of treatment).
Patients and methods
This study was a local, multicenter, observational disease registry. The study comprised a single baseline visit and four follow-up phone calls over 6 months of duration. A total of 571 patients were enrolled who fulfilled the inclusion and the exclusion criteria of the study.
Results
The most commonly prescribed osteoporosis treatment class was bisphosphonates in 523 (91.6%) patients, followed by calcium in 458 (80.18%) patients, vitamin D3 or vitamin D in 288 (50.4%) patients, and calcitonin in 35 (6.1%) patients. The assessment of patient compliance showed that 409 (71.6%) patients were fully compliant throughout the 6-month follow-up period, whereas 162 (28.4%) patients were noncompliant. The most frequent causes of noncompliance were gastritis, missing doses, poor improvement, and patient on several medications. Patients who were compliant to their medications showed lower fracture rates than those who were noncompliant.
Conclusion
Bisphosphonates and calcium were the most frequently prescribed medications. Lower numbers of fractures were noticed in compliant patients than in noncompliant patients.