Osteoporosis management: impact of fracture type on cost and quality of life in patients at risk for fracture I

BACKGROUND: Osteoporosis is a major and costly global public health problem. It is a chronic disease in which fracture is the main outcome, and the impact of these fractures can vary depending on the age of the individual and the severity of the fracture. SCOPE: Using literature review, this paper discusses and summarizes the information available regarding the individual and socio-economic consequences associated with the several types of osteoporotic fractures. FINDINGS: Different types of osteoporotic fractures are generally associated with different age groups. The health-economic impact of vertebral and hip fractures has been extensively explored and it is well known that these fractures are associated with morbidity/disability and increased mortality; they also account for a substantial portion of the direct fracture costs. However, to accurately estimate the individual and socio-economic burden of the disease, further research is needed on the morbidity/disability, mortality, and costs associated with non-hip, nonvertebral fractures, which account for more than half of the total fractures. More data are also required on the indirect costs associated with all fracture types. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the socio-economic consequences of each fracture type will be important to fully estimate the burden of osteoporosis and may help clinicians tailor management plans for individual patients.