The severity of vertebral fractures and health-related quality of life in osteoporotic postmenopausal women

Vertebral fractures are the hallmark of osteoporosis, responsible for increased back pain, impairment of mobility and functional limitations. These factors have an impact on patients health-related quality of life (QOL). The aim of this study was to assess QOL, using QUALEFFO, in osteoporotic postmenopausal women, according to the number and the severity of the vertebral fractures. A group of 629 osteoporotic postmenopausal women (60–80 years) with symptoms that, according to a rheumatologist, could be related to a vertebral fracture, had spine X-rays with standardized procedures. All the X-rays were assessed in a central facility. The number of fractures was a determinant of a low QOL, as indicated by an increased score in physical function ( P =0.001), social function ( P =0.002) and total score ( P =0.027). Patients with higher grades of vertebral deformities, i.e., more severe fractures, had low QOL in these three domains, too ( P <0.0001, P <0.0001 and P =0.005, respectively). There was no difference in QOL according to the thoracic or lumbar location of the fractures. Both anterior and middle deformities of the vertebral bodies had a negative impact on QOL. In none of the analyses were the pain and mental function domains of QUALEFFO discriminant among the patients. QOL, assessed by an osteoporosis-specific instrument, is decreased in osteoporotic women as a function of both the number and the severity of the vertebral fractures. Treating women with prevalent fractures may avoid a further decrease in their quality of life.     

Quality of life in patients with osteoporosis

Complaints regarding, and morbidity of, osteoporosis are caused by fractures which are associated with pain and decrease of physical function, social function, and well-being. These are aspects of quality of life. Health-related quality of life covers physical, mental, and social well-being. Quality of life may be measured for evaluation of treatment effects in clinical trials, for the assessment of the burden of the disease of osteoporosis, and for estimates of the cost-effectiveness of different treatment scenarios in health care policy. Quality of life has been measured in patients with osteoporosis with generic questionnaires such as SF-36 and EQ-5D, which can be used in many diseases, or with one of the six available osteoporotic-specific questionnaires, e.g., Qualeffo-41 or OPAQ. Every questionnaire has to be validated to assess psychometric properties and discrimination power between patients with osteoporosis and control subjects. The value attached to specific health states (utility) can be assessed with some generic instruments or by systematic questioning of the patient, e.g., the time-trade-off method. This results in one value for health status ranging from 0 (death) to 1 (perfect health). Utility values can be used to calculate loss of quality-adjusted life years (QALY). Most data have been obtained in patients with prevalent vertebral fractures. Scores of specific and generic questionnaires showed significant loss of quality of life with prevalent vertebral fractures. In addition, studies with Qualeffo-41 and OPAQ showed a deteriorating quality of life with increasing number of vertebral fractures. Lumbar fractures had more impact on quality of life than thoracic fractures. Incident vertebral fractures were also associated with a decrease of quality of life especially in the physical function domain. This applied to clinical incident vertebral fractures as well as to subclinical fractures to a lesser degree. Loss of quality of life following hip fracture has been documented with generic and osteoporosis-specific questionnaires. A considerable loss was observed in the 1st year with some improvement in the 2nd year, but not to baseline values. Quality of life depended on comorbidity, mobility, activities of daily life (ADL)–independence, and fracture complaints. Utility loss has been observed following hip fracture, especially disabling hip fracture, hip and vertebral fracture combined, or multiple vertebral fractures. Utility following osteoporotic fractures has been valued by patients, the healthy elderly, and panels of experts. The healthy elderly gave the worse quality-of-life scores (lower utility) to various hip fractures than patients with hip fractures themselves. In conclusion, suitable instruments exist for measuring quality of life in patients with osteoporotic fractures. These instruments are useful for clinical trials and for assessment of the burden of disease.     

Efficacy of home-based exercise for improving quality of life among elderly women with symptomatic osteoporosis-related vertebral fractures

This randomized controlled trial was designed to investigate the effect of a 6-month home-based exercise program versus control (usual activities) on quality of life for postmenopausal women with osteoporosis who had at least one vertebral fracture. Twelve-month assessments of outcomes were completed to determine if women would continue exercising with minimal supervision and if benefit could be sustained. The home exercise program followed a "lifestyle exercise" approach where participants completed exercises 60 min per day, 3 days a week and could complete exercises in small periods of time throughout the day. Exercise activities included stretching, strength training and aerobics (i.e. walking). Participants were assessed at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months using the Osteoporosis Quality of Life Questionnaire (OQLQ), the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP), a balance test, and the Timed Up And Go test. Bone mineral density was assessed at baseline and 12 months for both the lumbar spine and femoral neck. Quality of life (OQLQ) improved over 6 months in the exercise group compared to the control group in the domains of symptoms (P=0.003), emotion (P=0.01) and leisure (P=0.03). Results from the balance test indicated a greater effect in the exercise group over 12 months (P<0.05). There were no significant differences between groups in measures of Timed Up and Go, SIP at 6 and 12 months, and femoral neck and lumbar spine bone mineral density at 12 months. Home-based exercise with minimal supervision improves quality of life in elderly women with vertebral fractures. Future research is needed to determine if home exercise programs reduce falls and fall-related injuries in the elderly.     

Health-related quality of life and radiographic vertebral fracture

Background: Vertebral fractures are associated with back pain and disability; however, relatively little is known about the impact of radiographic vertebral fractures on quality of life in population samples. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of a recent radiographic vertebral fracture on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Methods: Men and women aged 50 years and over were recruited from population registers in 12 European centers. Subjects completed an interviewer-administered questionnaire and had lateral spine radiographs performed. Subjects in these centers were followed prospectively and had repeat spinal radiographs performed a mean of 3.8 years later. Prevalent deformities were defined using established morphometric criteria, and incident vertebral fractures by both morphometric criteria and qualitative assessment. For each incident fracture case, three controls matched for age, gender, and center were selected: one with a prevalent deformity (at baseline) and two without prevalent deformities. All subjects were interviewed or completed a postal questionnaire instrument which included Short Form 12 (SF-12), the EQ-5D (former EuroQol), and the quality of life questionnaire of the International Osteoporosis Foundation (QUALEFFO). The median time from the second spinal radiograph until the quality of life survey was 1.9 years. Comparison between cases and their matched controls was undertaken using the signed rank test. Results: 73 subjects with incident vertebral fracture (cases), mean age 64.8 years (of whom 23 had a baseline deformity), and 196 controls, mean age 63.9 years (of whom 60 had a baseline deformity), were studied. There were strong correlations between the domain scores for each of the three instruments. There was no statistically significant difference in any of the domain scores between cases and those controls with a prevalent deformity. However, compared with the controls without a prevalent deformity the cases had significantly impaired quality of life as determined using the total QUALEFFO score (38.2 vs 33.7), the physical component score of the SF-12 (39.9 vs 43.7) and the health status score of the EQ-5D (62.3 vs 69.9). When the analysis was repeated after stratification of the cases by baseline deformity status (i.e., cases with and without a prevalent deformity at baseline), cases with a prevalent deformity had impaired quality of life compared with their matched controls, both with and without a prevalent deformity. In contrast there was no significant difference in quality of life among the cases without a prevalent deformity and either control group. Conclusion: In this population-based study a recent vertebral fracture was associated with impairment in quality of life, though this was mainly among those who had sustained a previous vertebral deformity.     

密固达对骨质疏松患者中短期生存质量的影响

目的 我国老年人数量居于世界首位,骨质疏松是老年人常见的疾病,骨质疏松症的发病率呈上升趋势,使用疗效确切、迅速起效的抗骨质疏松药物减轻疼痛,恢复生活自理能力,提高生活质量尤为必要。方法 回顾分析2010年5月~2012年5月骨质疏松患者52例,随机分为密固达组和福善美组各26例,密固达组每年静脉滴注密固达注射液（诺华公司）5 mg;福善美组口服福善美,1片/次,每周1次,分析治疗前、治疗后1周、2周、1月、6月、1年VAS疼痛指数和诺丁汉健康量表变化。结果 52例患者治疗后VAS疼痛指数均有改善,半年治疗后,VAS改善比较明显,与治疗前比较差异有统 计学意义（P<0.01 ),密固达组的VAS评分改善更为迅速,治疗后1周内VAS指数已有明显的下降 (P<0.05 )。在诺丁汉健康量表分析方面,52例患者经治疗后指数均有不同程度的下降,尤其是在躯 体活动、精力、疼痛这3个条目方面（P<0.01 ),而密固达组下降更为迅速,治疗后1周已有显著性差 异（P<0. 05 );密固达组在治疗后1年社会联系条目指数较治疗前也有明显下降（P<0. 05 );两组在睡眠与情感反应条目治疗前后未见明显变化（P>0. 05 );密固达组治疗1年后,躯体活动、精力、疼痛 条目得分较福善美组低,比较有显著差异,具有统计学意义（P<0.05 )。结论 静脉滴注唑来膦酸盐较口服阿仑膦酸盐有更好的止痛效果,其起效更为迅速,使患者更快的恢复自理,减少了卧床时间,从而减少了因疼痛长期卧床引起废用性骨质疏松的恶性循环。同时,密固达每年仅需要一次静脉滴 注,大大提高了用药的依从性,受到患者及其家属的青睐,是一种高效的人性化的抗骨质疏松药物。     

老年膝骨关节炎合并骨质疏松患者生活质量状况及影响因素分析

目的了解老年膝骨关节炎合并骨质疏松患者的生活质量状况,并探讨其影响因素。方法对456例老年膝骨关节炎合并骨质疏松患者进行问卷调查,收集患者的生活质量相关资料并进行统计学分析。结果不同性别、年龄、职业、居住情况、病程、西安大略和麦克马斯特大学骨关节炎指数(Western Ontario and Mc Master Universities Osteoarthritis Index,WOMAC)评估、膝关节疼痛程度、社会支持总分患者间的生活质量得分差异有统计学意义(P0.05);多因素Logistic回归分析结果显示,WOMAC(OR=0.595,95%CI=0.102~0.896)、膝关节疼痛程度(OR=0.168,95%CI=0.014~0.805)、社会支持总分(OR=4.601,95%CI=2.210~18.102)是影响膝骨关节炎合并骨质疏松老年患者生活质量的重要因素。结论 WOMAC指数和膝关节疼痛程度越高,社会支持程度越低,膝骨关节炎合并骨质疏松老年患者的生活质量越低,应重视该类人群的防治。     

Association between height loss and bone loss, cumulative incidence of vertebral fractures and future quality of life: the Miyama study

Introduction The study aimed to clarify associations between height loss, bone loss and the quality of life (QOL) score among general inhabitants of Miyama, a rural Japanese community. This population-based epidemiological study was conducted in Miyama, a village located in a mountain area in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. Methods A list of all inhabitants comprising 1,543 inhabitants (716 men, 827 women) born in this village between 1910–1949 was compiled. From the above whole cohort, a subcohort to measure bone mineral density (BMD) was recruited, consisting of 400 participants, divided into four groups of 50 men and 50 women each, and stratified into age decades by decade of birth-year (1910–1919, 1920–1929, 1930–1939 or 1940–1949). BMD measurement, physical measurements of height (cm) and body weight (kg) were taken, and body mass index (BMI; kg/m²) were calculated. BMD and anthropometric measurements were repeated on the same participants at 3, 7 and 10 years after baseline measurement (1993, 1997 and 2000). Results and discussion Among 299 of 400 participants, changes in height over 10 years for men in their 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s were −0.7 cm, −0.5 cm, −1.2 cm and −1.5 cm, respectively, compared with −0.7 cm, −1.4 cm, −2.1 cm and −3.7 cm in women, respectively. No significant relationships between change in height and rate of change in BMD at the lumbar spine and femoral neck after adjustment for age in men (lumbar spine, β = 0.058, standard error of the mean (SE) = 0.031, P = 0.501, R² = 0.038; femoral neck, β = 0.100, SE = 0.038, P = 0.228, R² = 0.121) were identified. By contrast, among women, a significant positive association was identified between height change and change rate of BMD at the lumbar spine after adjusting for age (β = 0.221, SE = 0.039, P = 0.012, R² = 0.069), while no significant relationship was found between height change and change rate at the femoral neck (β = 0.107, SE = 0.039, P = 0.229, R² = 0.048). No significant relationship was noted between vertebral fractures (VFx) and height at baseline in men and women (men: odds ratio (OR) 0.93, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.81–1.05, P = 0.24; women: OR 0.97, 95% CI 0.87–1.08, P = 0.58) or between VFx and height loss (men: OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.00–1.71, P = 0.051; women: OR 1.20, 95% CI 0.94–1.53, P = 0.14). In both men and women, no significant relationship was identified between utility of the EuroQol EQ5D questionnaire and height at baseline (men: β = −0.148, SE = 0.003, P = 0.202, R² = 0.076; women: β = 0.127, SE = 0.004, P = 0.235, R² = 0.048), and height change (men: β = −0.078, SE = 0.008, P = 0.452, R² = 0.065; women: β = 0.053, SE = 0.010, P = 0.608, R² = 0.038).     

Quality of Life in Patients with Vertebral Fractures: Validation of the Quality of Life Questionnaire of the European Foundation for Osteoporosis (QUALEFFO)

Vertebral fractures may be minor or lead to pain, decreased physical function, immobility, social isolation and depression, which together contribute to quality of life. A Working Party of the European Foundation for Osteoporosis has developed a specfic questionnaire for patients with vertebral fractures. This questionnaire, QUALEFFO, includes questions in the domains pain, physical function, social function, general health perception and mental function. QUALEFFO was validated in a multicenter study in seven countries. The study was done in 159 patients aged 55–80 years with clinical osteoporosis, i.e., back pain and other complaints with at least one vertebral fracture and lumbar bone mineral density T-score <−1. Patients with a recent vertebral fracture were excluded because of unstable disease. Controls were age- and sex-matched, and did not have chronic back pain or vertebral fractures. Subjects with conditions exerting a major influence on quality of life were excluded. The QUALEFFO was administered twice within 4 weeks and compared with a generic questionnaire, the Short Form 36 of the Medical Outcomes Study (SF-36). Standard spinal radiographs were made for assessment of vertebral height. Seven questions were removed from the analysis because of low response rate, linguistic ambiguities or redundancy. The 41 remaining questions were analyzed for repeatability, internal consistency and the capacity to discriminate between patients with vertebral fractures and controls. Comparison with the SF-36 was performed within similar domains by conditional logistic regression and by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. The repeatability of QUALEFFO was good (kappa statistics 0.54–0.90) and 26 of 41 questions had a kappa score ≥0.70. The internal consistency of the five domains was adequate, with Crohnbach α around 0.80. All except five questions discriminated significantly between patients and controls. The median scores of QUALEFFO were significantly higher in patients with vertebral fractures than in controls in all five domain (p<0.001), which is consistent with decreased quality of life in patients with osteoporosis. Spinal radiographs were assessed using the McCloskey–Kanis algorithm. According to this, 124 patients (78%) had vertebral fractures of ≥3 SD severity, in contrast with 7 controls (4%). Significant correlations existed between scores of similar domains of QUALEFFO and the SF-36, especially for pain, physical function and mental function. All five domains within each questionnaire discriminated significantly between fracture cases and controls. The odds ratios for pain and social function were greater for QUALEFFO, while general health perception was more discriminating using the SF-36. The ROC curve analysis of QUALEFFO indicated that all five domains were significantly predictive of vertebral fractures. When comparing similar domains of the two questionnaires, QUALEFFO domains demonstrated significantly better performance for pain, physical function and social function. The QUALEFFO total score and SF-36 physical composite score showed similar performance. In conclusion, QUALEFFO is repeatable, coherent and discriminates well between patients with vertebral fractures and control subjects. The results of this study confirm the decreased quality of life in patients with vertebral fractures. Received: 4 August 1998 / Accepted: 28 December 1998     

Evaluation of pulmonary function and quality of life in women with osteoporosis

Osteoporotic vertebral fractures generally result in an increased kyphotic angle, which in turn may lead to disturbances in pulmonary function. The objective of the present study was to evaluate pulmonary function and quality of life in a group of osteoporotic patients. Fifteen women with osteoporosis and thoracic vertebral fractures (group 1), 20 women with osteoporosis without vertebral fracture (group 2) and 20 control women (group 3) were submitted to spirometry using a Vitatrace-130 SL spirometer and to an SF-36 quality of life questionnaire. Women with osteoporosis and vertebral fractures showed an increased kyphotic angle (median=60°) and decreased forced vital capacity (group 1 vs. group 2, P =0.020; group 1 vs. group 3, P =0.039) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (group 1 vs. group 2, P =0.008; group 1 vs. group 3, P =0.014) when compared with women without vertebral fractures or osteoporosis. A negative correlation was observed between thoracic kyphosis and the predicted value of expiratory forced volume in 1 s ( r =–0.713, P =0.003). No differences in the quality of life were detected between the three groups studied. We conclude that women with thoracic vertebral fractures have an increased kyphotic angle and present a decrease in lung volume.     

闭合复位后椎体成型术治疗骨质疏松性椎体压缩骨折

目的:观察闭合复位后椎体成型术治疗骨质疏松性椎体压缩骨折的效果。方法:34例骨质疏松性椎体压缩骨折患者,利用手术床使患者椎体压缩骨折部位过伸,达到闭合复位目的,然后经皮穿刺行椎体成型术,根据术前和术后侧位X线片测量椎体高度压缩率、后凸畸形角度,并计算椎体高度恢复率和后凸畸形矫正率。结果:利用过伸体位闭合复位后再行椎体成型术可以使椎体前壁高度恢复(40.1±23.5)%,中间高度恢复(44.7±20.8)%,后壁高度恢复(15.3±12.4)%,后凸畸形角度矫正(42.5±29.3)%。结论:骨质疏松性椎体压缩骨折可利用过伸体位闭合复位后再行椎体成型术,可有效恢复椎体高度和矫正后凸畸形。     

骨质疏松性椎体压缩骨折患者的生存质量研究

目的观察中西医结合非手术治疗与椎体成形术和椎体后凸成形术治疗骨质疏松性椎体压缩骨折患者的中长期生存质量。方法采取回顾性研究的方法,收集2006年1月~2008年12月在广东省中医院住院治疗的骨质疏松性椎体压缩骨折患者108例,其中非手术治疗者55例,椎体成形术治疗者53例。以生活质量问卷SF-36量表及视觉直观模拟量表(Visual Analogue Scale,VAS)为测评量表,对比非手术治疗和椎体成形术、椎体后凸成形术治疗超过3年后的生活质量,并观察再骨折的发生率。结果治疗后到随访时间平均50.59个月(36~69个月),SF-36量表评分的生理机能、生理职能、情感职能上非手术组为优于手术组,两组间比较有统计学意义(P值均0.05),其余各维度无统计学意义。VAS评分上非手术组为优于手术组,两组间对比有统计学意义,(P值0.05)。结论就中长期生存质量及疼痛改善程度来看,非手术治疗组优于手术组,且再骨折发生率较低,提示临床工作中要严格把握骨质疏松性椎体压缩骨折患者手术指征。     

Impact of postural deformities and spinal mobility on quality of life in postmenopausal osteoporosis

The objective of the study was to evaluate the impact of postural deformities and spinal mobility on quality of life (QOL) in patients with spinal osteoporosis. A total of 157 postmenopausal women aged over 60 years with osteoporosis were divided into five groups according to their postural deformities: round back (RB, n=41), hollow round back (HRB, n=33), whole kyphosis (WK, n=40), lower acute kyphosis (LAK, n=18), and normal posture (NP, n=25). QOL was evaluated using the Japanese Osteoporosis QOL Questionnaire (JOQOL) proposed by the Japanese Society for Bone and Mineral Research. This questionnaire contains six domains, with higher scores indicating higher levels of QOL. The number of vertebral fractures, thoracic kyphosis and lumbar lordosis angles, and spinal range of motion (ROM) during maximum flexion and extension were also measured with radiographs. Total QOL scores in RB, HRB, WK, and LAK groups were significantly lower than those in the NP group, and those in WK group were even lower compared with the other groups (P<0.05). All the groups with postural deformities, but not the NP group, showed significant positive correlations between total QOL score and spinal ROM (0.521r0.747, P<0.05). Total QOL score showed a significant correlation with age, number of vertebral fractures, lumbar lordosis angle, and spinal ROM in a total of 157 patients. However, multiple regression analysis revealed that spinal ROM best correlated with total QOL score. We concluded that QOL in patients with osteoporosis was impaired by postural deformities, especially by whole kyphosis, and that spinal mobility has a strong effect on QOL in these patients.     

Quality of life in ambulatory postmenopausal women: the impact of reduced bone mineral density and subclinical vertebral fractures

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis has hitherto been mainly assessed in patients with clinically recognized vertebral fractures. Our study aimed to investigate the QOL perception in 361 asymptomatic ambulant postmenopausal women who came to our center for an osteoporosis screening program planned with their general practitioners. The Quality of Life Questionnaire of the European Foundation for Osteoporosis (QUALEFFO) was administered to all subjects. The participants underwent bone mineral density (BMD) measurements by DXA of either the lumbar spine and/or the femoral neck, as well as X-ray examination of the thoracolumbar spine to identify subclinical vertebral fractures. According to the WHO definition, where subjects are subdivided by BMD values into three groups (women with normal BMD, osteopenia, and osteoporosis), a significant difference was found only for the domains which explore general health perception (p<0.01 by ANOVA) and mental function (p<0.001 by ANOVA). When we segregated both osteopenic and osteoporotic women according to whether or not they had vertebral fractures, a significant difference was found only in osteoporotic patients for domains which explore physical function (p<0.001), social function (p<0.001), general health perception (p<0.02), and total QUALEFFO score (p<0.01). Stepwise multiple logistic regression analysis of the whole sample showed that both vertebral fractures and a low femoral BMD impairs QOL perception, while age did not exert a significant influence. ROC curves analysis demonstrated a low discriminating capacity of individual domains and total QUALEFFO score for both vertebral deformities and BMD categorization. Our results showed that QUALEFFO is not able to discriminate between patients with or without subclinical vertebral fractures. However, some aspects of QOL appear to be impaired in patients with subclinical vertebral fractures or reduced BMD.     

Micalcic治疗原发性骨质疏松症疼痛及提高生存质量临床研究

目的 疼痛是骨质疏松症的临床表现之一,影响病人生存质量,本研究目的是观察Ｍｉｃａｌｃｉｃ在治疗骨质疏松疼痛及提高生存质量中的作用。方法 ４７例骨质疏松症患,均有自发性疼痛,随机分成二组,Ⅰ组为对照组用钙剂治疗,Ⅱ组为治疗组用钙剂加Ｍｉｃａｌｃｉｃ治疗。二组在血钙、磷、碱性磷酸酶及骨密度（ＢＭＤ）无明显差异。结果 治疗线患在用Ｍｉｃａｌｃｉｃ治疗二周疼痛明显减轻,生存质量明显提高,与对照组相比Ｐ     

Fracture incidence and changes in quality of life in women with an inadequate clinical outcome from osteoporosis therapy: the Observational Study of Severe Osteoporosis (OSSO)

Summary In this observational study of women with an inadequate clinical outcome to osteoporosis therapy, those with a fracture at baseline were more likely to sustain an incident fracture and have a worse health-related quality of life than those without prior fracture. Introduction The Observational Study of Severe Osteoporosis (OSSO) was designed to assess the fracture incidence and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in women with an inadequate clinical outcome to osteoporosis therapy. Methods Post-menopausal women (N = 1,885) with established osteoporosis and an inadequate clinical response to osteoporosis drug therapy defined as: a) a fragility fracture despite therapy for one year (index fracture, N = 988), or b) discontinued drug therapy due to adverse effects and/or non-compliance (N = 897), were assessed during one year for HRQoL using the EQ-5D and the QUALEFFO questionnaires. Results One hundred and sixty-six (8.8%) women had a total of 209 incident fractures (1,139 fractures/10,000 women-years). Women with an index fracture were more likely to sustain an incident fracture than those without prior fractures (hazard ratio 1.91; 95% CI: 1.37–2.66; p < 0.001). Co-morbidities or antidepressant use at baseline also increased the risk of incident fracture. Median total EQ-5D Health State Values and QUALEFFO scores were worse in women with an incident fracture regardless of index fracture status. The worst scores were reported in the EQ-5D sub-domains of self-care, usual activities and pain/discomfort. Conclusions Women with an inadequate response to osteoporosis therapy had a high rate of incident fracture which had an adverse impact on HRQoL.     

Determinants of health-related quality of life in women with vertebral fractures

Health-related quality of life (HRQL) is an important consideration in the management of patients with vertebral fractures. The purpose of this study was to examine patient-related factors that contribute to HRQL after vertebral fractures, including co-morbidities, medications, fracture history, family disease history, demographics, exercise, education and living environment. A total of 1,129 post-menopausal women (mean age 67.2, SD 11.9 years) was studied from the Canadian Database of Osteoporosis and Osteopenia (CANDOO). HRQL was measured using the mini-osteoporosis quality of life questionnaire (mini-OQLQ). Separate multivariable linear regression analyses [parameter estimates and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI)] were performed for each of the five mini-OQLQ domains: symptoms, physical functioning, emotional functioning, activities of daily living and leisure domains. A strong positive association was found between HRQL and post-secondary education, a family history of osteoporosis, working and thiazide therapy. Exercise improved HRQL; however, several hours a week were required to be meaningful. Living in long-term care had the most marked negative effect on HRQL. Smoking, past surgery of the hip or spine, sedatives, anticonvulsants, atherosclerotic disease and hypertension were also associated with a substantially decreased HRQL across several domains. Calcium channel-blockers, chemotherapy, corticosteroids, diabetes, migraines, the number of non-vertebral fractures and falls had a negative impact on selected domains. We demonstrated that several modifiable factors influence HRQL in patients with vertebral fractures, and physicians should be aware of these and other markers of reduced HRQL to enhance patient care.     

Sequential change in quality of life for patients with incident clinical fractures: a prospective study

Summary  Health-related quality of life in elderly women with sustained incident fractures was assessed prospectively for 1 year, using the EuroQol standard. Loss of QOL was more severe in patients after hip or vertebral fractures than those with wrist fracture. QOL was not completely restored in patients suffering from hip fracture. Introduction  Osteoporosis-related fractures decrease mobility, social interaction, and emotional well-being. All of these characteristics determine health-related quality of life (HR-QOL). In this study, we assessed HR-QOL in elderly women following incident clinical fractures. Methods  Thirty-seven patients with hip fractures (mean age 76.1 years), 35 with vertebral fractures (mean age 72.6 years), and 50 with wrist fractures (mean age 68.6 years) were enrolled. HR-QOL was prospectively measured using EuroQol (EQ-5D) before the fracture, 2 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year after the fracture. Results  During the observation period, reduction of EQ-5D values was greatest in the hip fracture group. In the wrist fracture group, EQ-5D values at 6 months after the fracture showed recovery; however, in the hip and vertebral fracture groups, recovery was significantly lower than before the fracture. One year after the fracture, EQ-5D values were not significantly different from prefracture values in the vertebral and wrist fracture groups, but remained significantly lower in the hip fracture group. Conclusions  Loss of QOL was more severe in patients after hip or vertebral fractures than in patients with wrist fracture. HR-QOL was not completely restored in patients suffering from hip fracture.     

The course of the acute vertebral body fragility fracture: its effect on pain,disability and quality of life during 12 months

The vertebral body fracture is the most frequent bone fragility fracture. In spite of this there is considerable uncertainty about the frequency, extent and severity of the acute pain and even more about the duration of pain, the magnitude of disability and how much daily life is disturbed in the post-fracture period. The aim of the present study was to follow the course of pain, disability, ADL and QoL in patients during the year after an acute low energy vertebral body fracture. The study design was a longitudinal cohort study with prospective data collection. All the patients over 40 years admitted to the emergency unit because of back pain with a radiologically acute vertebral body fracture were eligible. A total of 107 patients were followed for a year. The pain, disability (von Korff pain and disability scores), ADL (Hannover ADL score), and QoL (EQ-5D) were measured after 3 weeks, 3, 6 and 12 months. Two-thirds of the patients were women, and were similar in average age, as the men around 75 years. A total of 65.4% of the fractures were due to a level fall or a minor trauma, whereas 34.6% had no recollection of trauma or a specific event as the cause of the fracture. A total of 76.6% of the fractured patients were immediately mobilized and allowed to return home while the remaining were hospitalized. The average pain intensity score after 3 weeks was 70.9 (SD 19.3), the disability score 68.9 (SD 23.6), the ADL score 37.7 (SD 22.1) and EQ-5D score of 0.37 (SD 0.37). The largest improvements, 10–15%, occurred between the initial visit and the 3 months follow-up and were quite similar for all the measures. From 3 months, all the outcome measures leveled out or tended to deteriorate resulting in a mean pain intensity score of 60.5, disability score of 53.9, ADL score of 47.6, and EQ-5D score 0.52 after 12 months. After a whole year the fractured patients’ condition was similar to the preoperative condition of patients with a herniated lumbar disc, central lumbar spinal stenosis or in patients 100% work disabled due to back or neck problems. Instead of the generally believed good prognosis for the greater majority of those fractured, the acute vertebral body fracture was the beginning of a long-lasting severe deterioration of their health.     

The effect of treatment with calcitonin on vertebral fracture rate in osteoporosis

The efficacy of treatments for osteoporosis does not become evident when evaluated by fracture incidence (FI). Vertebral FI decreased in all controlled studies on calcitonin, but not significantly. Small sample sizes and short periods of treatment may have masked a possible therapeutic benefit, but longer, controlled studies with sodium fluoride or etidronate in larger groups of patients also failed to show a decrease in FI. The present analysis of nine published, therapeutic studies which indicate the FI per year and the initial prevalence of vertebral fractures, examines the question of whether the initial prevalence of fractures has an effect on the subsequent incidence of new fractures and whether the therapeutic effects have to be evaluated as a function of the initial prevalence of fractures. Bearing in mind the differences in roentgenological evaluation and in the size and quality of the various studies, the analysis revealed (1) that in the control groups there was a higher FI in patients with more than three vertebral fractures at baseline (estimated odds ratio (OR)=49,p=0.011); (2) that a similar trend, although not statistically significant, was observed in treated patients; (3) that the groups of control patients treated for more than 1 year showed in general an increase in FI beyond the first year and that the reverse was true in treated patients. In conclusion, failure to allow for the initial prevalence of vertebral fractures at the individual level in therapeutic trials of calcitonin to treat osteoporosis and prevent new fractures might have contributed to the absence of a demonstrable benefit of the treatment in those studies.     

No secular increase in the prevalence of vertebral fractures due to postmenopausal osteoporosis

We examined whether the prevalence of vertebral fractures in otherwise healthy, 70-year-old Danish women had increased during an interval of 10 years. The population-based epidemiological study included two age-matched groups of postmenopausal women. Group 1 consisted of 70-year-old women (n=386) living in a defined area of suburban Copenhagen recruited in 1979 for an epidemiological study. Of the 285 women who were entered, 173 were judged healthy, without secondary causes of osteoporosis. Group 2 was recruited by sending questionnaires to all women aged 68–72 years living in the same area in 1989. Of the 512 women who attended a medical screening, 387 were found to be without secondary causes of osteoporosis and had a spinal radiograph. Radiographs of the thoracolumbar spine were assessed for vertebral fracture by five radiological methods. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the prevalence of vertebral fractures and the 95% confidence intervals overlapped completely in all methods. The prevalence rates varied by method from about 35% to more than 80% but the distribution of fracture types was similar in the two groups. We conclude that the prevalence of vertebral fractures due to postmenopausal osteoporosis has not increased since 1979 in otherwise healthy women residing in suburban Copenhagen, and that comparison of prevalences between studies requires that they use the same method of radiological assessment.