Models of care for osteoporosis: A systematic scoping review of efficacy and implementation characteristics

Developing fracture liaison service framework based on comparative analysis and scoping review

This research conducts a comparative analysis and scoping review of 105 studies in the field of Fracture Liaison Service (FLS). The resulting two-dimensional framework represents a significant step toward FLS implementation.

PURPOSE

The primary goal is to review interventions in real world settings in order to provide the FLS framework that specifies the essential elements of its implementation and offers different perspectives on that.

METHOD

This study encompasses two phases: a comparative analysis of existing FLS models, including "Capture the Fracture," "5IQ," and "Ganda," and a scoping review from 2012 to 2022 in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, ProQuest, and IEEE databases limited to publications in English.

RESULTS

The resulting model of comparative analysis identifies patient identification, investigation, intervention and integration or continuity of care as the four main stages of FLS. Additionally, the elements of quality and information span across all stages. Following comparative analysis, the framework is designed to be used for content analysis of the included studies in the scoping review. The intersection of columns (Who, Where, When, What, How, Quality) with rows (Identification, Investigation, Intervention, and continuity of care) yields a set of questions, answered in tabular form based on the scoping review.

CONCLUSION

The framework offers potential benefits in facilitating the adoption of effective approaches for FLS implementation. It is recommended to undertake an in-depth review of each of these components in order to uncover novel and innovative approaches for improving their implementation.

Expanding access to fracture liaison services in Australia for people with minimal trauma fractures: a system dynamics modelling study

OBJECTIVES

To project how many minimal trauma fractures could be averted in Australia by expanding the number and changing the operational characteristics of fracture liaison services (FLS).

STUDY DESIGN

System dynamics modelling.

SETTING, PARTICIPANTS

People aged 50 years or more who present to hospitals with minimal trauma fractures, Australia, 2020-31.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Numbers of all minimal trauma fractures and of hip fractures averted by increasing the FLS number (from 29 to 58 or 100), patient screening rate (from 30% to 60%), and capacity for accepting new patients (from 40 to 80 per service per month), and reducing the proportion of eligible patients who do not attend FLS (from 30% to 15%); cost per fracture averted.

RESULTS

Our model projected a total of 2 441 320 minimal trauma fractures (258 680 hip fractures; 2 182 640 non-hip fractures) in people aged 50 years or older during 2020-31, including 1 211 646 second or later fractures. Increasing the FLS number to 100 averted a projected 5405 fractures (0.22%; $39 510 per fracture averted); doubling FLS capacity averted a projected 3674 fractures (0.15%; $35 835 per fracture averted). Our model projected that neither doubling the screening rate nor reducing by half the proportion of eligible patients who did not attend FLS alone would reduce the number of fractures. Increasing the FLS number to 100, the screening rate to 60%, and capacity to 80 new patients per service per month would together avert a projected 13 672 fractures (0.56%) at a cost of $42 828 per fracture averted.

CONCLUSION

Our modelling indicates that increasing the number of hospital-based FLS and changing key operational characteristics would achieve only moderate reductions in the number of minimal trauma fractures among people aged 50 years or more, and the cost would be relatively high. Alternatives to specialist-led, hospital-based FLS should be explored.

Bone health in rural Australia: a mixed methods study of consumer needs

This mixed methods study explores osteoporosis among adults living in a regional area of Victoria, Australia. Three major themes emerged from interviews, which reflected the findings of surveys, concerns regarding the adequacy of care in rural areas, a desire for tailored, local care, and a desire for hybrid telemedicine or in-person services.

PURPOSE

Osteoporosis or osteopenia affects over half of adults aged over 50 years. People living outside major cities in Australia have higher hip fracture rates than people living in cities, along with reduced access to bone densitometry and osteoporosis specialists. This study explores osteoporosis risk factors, knowledge, experiences of and preferences for care in people living in a regional area, to inform development of osteoporosis care programs.

METHODS

Adults living in a large non-metropolitan region of Australia were invited to participate in a mixed methods study: a survey (phase 1) followed by semi-structured interviews (phase 2) with triangulation of results. Data collected included osteoporosis diagnosis, risk factors, management, knowledge, preferences for care and experience using telemedicine. Surveys were analysed quantitatively, with linear and logistic regression used to assess factors related to osteoporosis knowledge or satisfaction with telemedicine. Interview transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis by two researchers, with in-depth discussion to identify themes.

RESULTS

Sixty-two participants completed the survey, and 15 completed interviews. The mean (SD) age of survey participants was 62.2 (14.1) years, 57% had a screening test for osteoporosis, and 12 (19%) had a diagnosis of osteoporosis. The mean osteoporosis knowledge score was 8.4 / 19 and did not differ with age, education, or history of osteoporosis. The majority wanted access to more information about osteoporosis but preferred method differed, and the majority preferred in-person medical consultations to telemedicine. Interview participants were aged between 57 and 87 years, and included 8 with osteoporosis or osteopenia. Three major themes emerged: concerns regarding the adequacy of care in rural areas, a desire for tailored local car and a desire for hybrid telemedicine or in-person services.

CONCLUSION

Gaps exist in rural osteoporosis care, including knowledge, screening and management. People have differing experiences of care, access to services and preferences for care. High-quality care, tailored to their needs, was preferred. Improving osteoporosis services for regional Australia will require a flexible, multi-faceted approach, addressing needs of the local community and providers.

Ireland DXA-FRAX may differ significantly and substantially to Web-FRAX

Appropriate use of FRAX reduces the number of people requiring DXA scans, while contemporaneously determining those most at risk. We compared the results of FRAX with and without inclusion of BMD. It suggests clinicians to carefully consider the importance of BMD inclusion in fracture risk estimation or interpretation in individual patients.

PURPOSE

FRAX is a widely accepted tool to estimate the 10-year risk of hip and major osteoporotic fracture in adults. Prior calibration studies suggest this works similarly with or without the inclusion of bone mineral density (BMD). The purpose of the study is to compare within-subject differences between FRAX estimations derived using DXA and Web software with and without the inclusion of BMD.

METHOD

A convenience cohort was used for this cross-sectional study, consisting of 1254 men and women aged between 40 and 90 years who had a DXA scan and complete validated data available for analysis. FRAX 10-year estimations for hip and major osteoporotic fracture were calculated using DXA software (DXA-FRAX) and the Web tool (Web-FRAX), with and without BMD. Agreements between estimates within each individual subject were examined using Bland-Altman plots. We performed exploratory analyses of the characteristics of those with very discordant results.

RESULTS

Overall median DXA-FRAX and Web-FRAX 10-year hip and major osteoporotic fracture risk estimations which include BMD are very similar: 2.9% vs. 2.8% and 11.0% vs. 11% respectively. However, both are significantly lower than those obtained without BMD: 4.9% and 14% respectively, P < 0.001. Within-subject differences between hip fracture estimates with and without BMD were < 3% in 57% of cases, between 3 and 6% in 19% of cases, and > 6% in 24% of cases, while for major osteoporotic fractures such differences are < 10% in 82% of cases, between 10 and 20% in 15% of cases, and > 20% in 3% of cases.

CONCLUSIONS

Although there is excellent agreement between the Web-FRAX and DXA-FRAX tools when BMD is incorporated, sometimes there are very large differences for individuals between results obtained with and without BMD. Clinicians should carefully consider the importance of BMD inclusion in FRAX estimations when assessing individual patients.

Multicompartment body composition analysis in older adults: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

During aging, changes occur in the proportions of muscle, fat, and bone. Body composition (BC) alterations have a great impact on health, quality of life, and functional capacity. Several equations to predict BC using anthropometric measurements have been developed from a bi-compartmental (2-C) approach that determines only fat mass (FM) and fat-free mass (FFM). However, these models have several limitations, when considering constant density, progressive bone demineralization, and changes in the hydration of the FFM, as typical changes during senescence. Thus, the main purpose of this study was to propose and validate a new multi-compartmental anthropometric model to predict fat, bone, and musculature components in older adults of both sexes.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study included 100 older adults of both sexes. To determine the dependent variables (fat mass [FM], bone mineral content [BMC], and appendicular lean soft tissue [ALST]) whole total and regional dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) body scans were performed. Twenty-nine anthropometric measures and sex were appointed as independent variables. Models were developed through multivariate linear regression. Finally, the predicted residual error sum of squares (PRESS) statistic was used to measure the effectiveness of the predicted value for each dependent variable.

RESULTS

An equation was developed to simultaneously predict FM, BMC, and ALST from only four variables: weight, half-arm span (HAS), triceps skinfold (TriSK), and sex. This model showed high coefficients of determination and low estimation errors (FM: R²_adj: 0.83 and SEE: 3.16; BMC: R²_adj: 0.61 and SEE: 0.30; ALST: R²_adj: 0.85 and SEE: 1.65).

CONCLUSION

The equations provide a reliable, practical, and low-cost instrument to monitor changes in body components during the aging process. The internal cross-validation method PRESS presented sufficient reliability in the model as an inexpensive alternative for clinical field use.

Prevalence of osteoporosis and incidence of related fractures in developed economies in the Asia Pacific region: a systematic review

Robust data on osteoporosis in the Asia Pacific region could improve healthcare decision-making. Osteoporosis affects 10-30% of women aged 40 + , and up to 10% of men in 7 developed economies in Asia Pacific. Fractures affect 500-1000 adults aged 50 + per 100,000 person-years. Policymakers and clinicians must address this problem.

PURPOSE

Osteoporosis and associated fractures result in considerable morbidity, loss of productivity, early mortality, and increased healthcare expenses. Many countries in the Asia Pacific (AP) region, especially middle- and higher-income economies, are faced with aging and increasingly sedentary populations. It is critical to consolidate and analyze the available information on the prevalence and incidence of the disease in these countries.

METHODS

We systematically reviewed articles and gray literature for Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. We searched PubMed, ScienceDirect, JSTOR, Cochrane, Google Scholar, and other databases for data published 2009-2018. We included articles with prevalence or incidence estimates for adults with osteoporosis or related fractures.

RESULTS

All locations had data available, but of widely varying quantity and quality. Most estimates for osteoporosis prevalence ranged from 10 to 30% for women ages 40 and older, and up to 10% for men. Osteoporotic fracture incidence typically ranged between 500 and 1000 per 100,000 person-years among adults aged 50 and older. Both outcomes typically increased with age and were more common among women.

CONCLUSION

Osteoporosis and associated fractures affect significant portions of the adult population in developed economies in the AP region. Governments and healthcare systems must consider how best to prevent and diagnose osteoporosis, and manage affected individuals, to reduce healthcare costs and mortality associated with fractures.

Geriatric fracture program centering age-friendly care associated with lower length of stay and lower direct costs

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate outcomes associated with an integrated inpatient and outpatient program aimed at optimizing the care of geriatric fracture patients in a mixed community and academic health system setting.

DATA SOURCES AND STUDY SETTING

This study took place at a tertiary-care, 886-bed hospital system. The Geriatric Fracture Program (GFP) was designed in 2018 using the 4Ms Framework (What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility). Patients ≥65 years old with non-spine fractures managed by orthopedic faculty surgeons and participating hospitalist groups were included. A fracture liaison team educated patients regarding bone health and ensured ambulatory geriatrics follow-up. Outpatient geriatric visits focused on mobility, fall risk, bone health imaging, and medications.

STUDY DESIGN

We compared GFP-enrolled patients (n = 746) to patients seen by non-GFP-participating physicians (n = 852) and used a generalized estimating equations approach and Poisson models to analyze associations between participation in the GFP program and four inpatient outcomes (time to surgery, length of stay, Vizient length of stay index, and total direct costs). We examined outcomes across all fractures and also stratified them by fracture type (hip vs. non-hip). We descriptively examined post-discharge care outcomes: fall, gait, and balance assessments; bone health imaging; and medications.

DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS

We collected data through chart reviews/electronic health record extracts from July 2018 to June 2021.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

GFP-enrolled patients with all fracture types had a significantly lower length of stay (marginal effect [ME]: -2.12, 95%CI: -2.61, -1.63), length of stay index (ME: -0.33, 95%CI: -0.42, -0.25), and total direct costs (ME: -$5316, 95%CI: -$6806, -$3826); the magnitude of the effects was greater for non-hip fractures. There was no significant difference in time to surgery. Of 746 GFP patients, 170 (23%) had a post-discharge visit with a participating geriatrician ≥6 months.

CONCLUSIONS

A systematic approach to improving care for older adults with fractures improved length of stay and total direct costs.

Effectiveness of Whole-Body Vibration Combined with Multicomponent Training on the Risk of Falls and Quality of Life in Elderly Women with Osteoporosis: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Osteoporosis and the risk of falls increase the risk of fractures and events of falls. Prescriptions and programs for different forms of exercise have different impacts on the risk of falls, and exercises from multiple categories of whole-body vibration can be effective. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of whole-body vibration (WBV) protocol combined with multicomponent training (MCT) in elderly women with osteoporosis and their history of falls. Our proposal is a protocol for a randomized clinical trial, divided into two stages: First, development of a protocol for WVB combined with MCT for elderly women with osteoporosis and a history of falls, under the Guidelines of the American College of Sports Medicine, and following the recommendations of the Standard Protocol Items Recommendations for Interventional Trials (SPIRIT), and second, a randomized controlled clinical trial following the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT). This trial will have implications for the effectiveness of a vibration protocol combined with multicomponent exercise on the risk of falls and quality of life for older women with osteoporosis. We expect that adding full-body vibration to an exercise protocol will decrease the risk of falls and improve participants’ quality of life, as well as their strength, balance, and functional capacity.