Fracture risk and fracture prevalence in women from outpatient osteoporosis clinic and subjects from population-based sample: A comparison between GO Study and RAC-OST-POL cohorts

• Published in: Advances in clinical and experimental medicine : official organ Wroclaw Medical University Vol. 32; no. 1; pp. 65 - 69
• Main Authors: Pluskiewicz, Wojciech, Adamczyk, Piotr, Drozdzowska, Bogna
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Poland 2023
• Subjects: Aged; Bone Density; Female; Humans; Middle Aged; Osteoporosis - complications; Osteoporosis - epidemiology; Osteoporotic Fractures - epidemiology; Osteoporotic Fractures - etiology; Outpatients; Prevalence; Risk Assessment - methods; Risk Factors; bone mineral density; clinical risk factors; females; fracture incidence; fracture risk
• ISSN: 1899-5276
• DOI: 10.17219/acem/152736

The method of recruiting the study subjects is an important element of the study design. It can have a strong influence on the results. Different recruitment schedules can give a different picture of the studied phenomenon. The aim of the study was to compare bone health in a group of female patients treated for osteoporosis with a population-based sample. A cohort of women from GO Study from 1 outpatient osteoporotic clinic (n = 1442, mean age 65.8 ±6.7 years) and population-based female sample of RAC-OST-POL Study (n = 963, mean age 65.8 ±7.5 years) were studied. Mean age did not differ between groups. Mean weight, height and body mass index (BMI) in subjects from GO Study and RAC-OST-POL Study were 69.5 ±13.1 kg, 157.8 ±6.1 cm and 27.9 ±5.1 kg/m2, and 74.2 ±13.7 kg, 156.0 ±6.0 cm and 30.5 ±5.4 kg/m2, respectively, and differed significantly (p < 0.0001 for each variable). Data on clinical risk factors for osteoporosis and fractures were collected. Bone densitometry at hip was performed using a Prodigy or Lunar DPX device (GE Healthcare, Waukesha, USA). Fracture risk was established using FRAX, Garvan and POL-RISK. Mean values of T-score for femoral neck in subjects from GO Study and RAC-OST-POL Study were -1.67 ±0.91 and -1.27 ±0.91 and differed significantly (p < 0.0001). In GO Study and RAC-OST-POL Study, there were 518 (35.9%) and 280 (29.1%) subjects with fractures, respectively. The fracture frequency was significantly higher in the GO Study group (p < 0.001). Among clinical risk factors, only rheumatoid arthritis (p < 0.0001) secondary osteoporosis (p < 0.0001) and falls (p < 0.0001) were more frequent in RAC-OST-POL Study. Fracture risk established using FRAX, Garvan and POL-RISK calculators was significantly greater in patients enrolled in the GO Study than in subjects from the RAC-OST-POL population-based sample (p < 0.0001 for each variable). Differences noted between female patients treated for osteoporosis and population-based sample, especially in regard to fracture risk, reveal a strong influence of recruitment criteria on study results in the field of bone health and osteoporosis.