Less than half of women with osteoporosis take calcium, vitamin D
Reported September 23, 2008
New research presented at the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 30th Annual Meeting in Montreal highlighted differences in attitudes towards osteoporosis supplementations.
Researchers evaluated treatment knowledge among 383 women aged 50 years and older with postmenopausal osteoporosis in France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. Women were questioned on bisphosphonate adherence and calcium and vitamin D supplementation.
Ninety percent of women in Spain reported using some sort of supplementation compared with 74% in Germany, 69% in France and 61% in the United Kingdom. Less than half reported taking both calcium and vitamin D with bisphosphonates — 49% in Germany, 46% in France, 43% in Spain and 37% in the United Kingdom.
U.K. women were least likely to recognize the importance of calcium and vitamin D supplementation — one-third reported never discussing supplementation with a physician. Yet, more than half (51%) of the women in Spain reported regular discussions with their physician compared with 36% in Germany, 24% in France and 9% in the United Kingdom.
Up to 30% of women in all four countries reported regularly missing a dose. The reasons most commonly cited were lack of knowledge about the benefits of supplementation and no detailed instruction from the physician.
The researchers cautioned interpretation of these data, as they are “claimed data” based on patient testimonials. – by Katie Kalvaitis