Experts Consider Osteoporosis to Be a Silent Epidemic Which Is Neglected and Under Addressed, According to New Survey Released Today - Seite 2

The survey results also suggest that patients are not well informed about osteoporosis and its impact. Only a third (33%) of specialists feel their patients understand the long term impact of osteoporosis and more than half (53%) say their patients believe there is a low, to no increased risk of subsequent fragility fractures after the first,³ despite evidence which shows that after experiencing the first fracture, you are five times more likely to suffer another fracture within a year.⁸ Worse still, for those that suffer a hip fracture, 40% are not able to walk independently again⁹ and up to a quarter of those who suffer a hip fracture die in the first year through complications.^10,11

In addition, the survey highlighted challenges in osteoporosis management may also sit at the primary care level. The majority (84%) of specialists agreed that increased awareness and understanding of osteoporosis is needed for general practitioners (GPs), and only 32% agreed that GPs refer suspected osteoporosis diagnoses in a timely manner.³

With osteoporosis being the most common bone disease in the world, resulting in more than 8.9 million fragility fractures each year around the globe,¹² more needs to be done to help educate and support general practitioners and patients on osteoporosis and the importance of timely referral and effective management.

"Osteoporosis patients can face a great loss of independence and a reduced quality of life, especially after experiencing a fragility fracture and these survey results highlight that the specialists treating the condition believe that not enough is being done to ensure it's given the priority that's required at the healthcare system level," said Dr. Pascale Richetta, Head of Bone and Executive Vice President at UCB. "We need to help prevent this silent epidemic from spreading by better educating policy makers, physicians and patients on the long-term impact of osteoporosis, so that the condition can be effectively managed, and the risk of subsequent, iterative, fractures reduced."

About the survey

UCB conducted a survey of healthcare professionals with a speciality in bone medicine. The survey was conducted in August-September 2019 as part of an initiative to investigate attitudes and perceived prioritisation of osteoporosis and fragility fractures in eleven major industrialized countries: Germany, Spain, France, United Kingdom, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland and Romania. 401 specialist healthcare professionals were interviewed online about osteoporosis and fragility fractures.