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Utilization of osteoporosis medication after a fragility fracture among elderly Medicare beneficiaries

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Abstract

Summary

Osteoporosis medications are recommended for elderly patients after a fragility fracture. However, we found substantial under-treatment in the post-fracture year, especially among patients who had not previously received such medications. Improved treatment of elderly patients experiencing fragility fractures is needed.

Introduction

Osteoporosis medications are recommended for elderly patients after a fragility fracture, but under-treatment is common. We determined osteoporosis medication use after fragility fractures and examined associated factors.

Methods

Our cohort included elderly (age ≥66 years) Medicare-enrolled patients who sustained fragility fractures January 1, 2008–December 31, 2011. Osteoporosis medication prescriptions were determined in the 12 months after the index fracture. Using multivariate logistic models, we examined the association between post-fracture osteoporosis medication use and predictors.

Results

Of 145,185 patients with fragility fractures (mean age 80.9 ± 7.8 years; 91.2 % white; 81.3 % female), 29.9 % sustained hip, 31.8 % vertebral, and 38.4 % non-hip-non-vertebral fractures. Overall, 30.4 % of the cohort received an osteoporosis medication in the 12-month post-fracture period. Of patients not receiving an osteoporosis medication in the pre-index period (n = 108,344), 14.9 % of all patients, 16.3 % of women, and 10.3 % of men received one in the post-fracture period. Corresponding values for patients receiving an osteoporosis medication in the pre-index period (n = 36,841) were 76.2, 76.5, and 72.2 %. Odds of post-fracture osteoporosis medication use were 68 % higher for women than for men. Osteoporosis diagnosis (odds ratio, 1.55; P < 0.0001) and bone-mineral-density tests before an index fracture (odds ratio, 1.24; P < 0.001) were associated with post-fracture osteoporosis medication use.

Conclusions

Less than one third of our cohort received an osteoporosis medication in the post-fracture year, when risk of a second fragility fracture is highest. In those not already previously treated with an osteoporosis medication, only about 1 in 7 patients received treatment.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a research grant from Amgen Inc. The contract provides for the Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation authors to have final determination of manuscript content. Drs. Yusuf, Grauer, Barron, and Chandler are employed by Amgen. The authors thank Chronic Disease Research Group colleague Nan Booth, MSW, MPH, ELS, for manuscript editing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Amgen, Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA, USA

    Akeem A. Yusuf, Andreas Grauer, Richard Barron & David Chandler

  2. College of Pharmacy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Akeem A. Yusuf

  3. Chronic Disease Research Group, Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Thomas J. Matlon & Yi Peng

Authors
  1. Akeem A. Yusuf
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  2. Thomas J. Matlon
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  3. Andreas Grauer
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  4. Richard Barron
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  5. David Chandler
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  6. Yi Peng
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Akeem A. Yusuf.

Ethics declarations

We applied to and received approval from the Human Subjects Research Committee of the Hennepin County Medical Center/Hennepin Healthcare System, Inc.

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Yusuf, A.A., Matlon, T.J., Grauer, A. et al. Utilization of osteoporosis medication after a fragility fracture among elderly Medicare beneficiaries. Arch Osteoporos 11, 31 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11657-016-0285-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11657-016-0285-0

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