Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in Japanese osteoporotic patients and its improvement by elcatonin treatment

Abstract

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL; "QOL" hereafter) was evaluated in Japanese osteoporotic patients using three questionnaires; the SF-36 (MOS 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey; generic, profile-type), the EQ-5D (Euro Qol-5 Dimensions; generic, preference-based), and the JOQOL (Japanese Osteoporosis Quality of Life 1999; disease-targeted). The eight subscales and two summary scores of the SF-36 were impaired in these patients even after correction for age and sex. The scores on the EQ-5D and JOQOL correlated well with the subscales of the SF-36 that represent the physical aspects of physical function and bodily pain, which suggests that physical aspects are important determinants of overall QOL status in osteoporotic patients. Although the QOL scores did not correlate with bone mineral density, they were markedly influenced by the presence of vertebral fractures. In particular, the presence of two or more vertebral fractures greatly decreased the QOL scores. We then evaluated the QOL scores before and after treatment. The patients were either given calcium supplementation alone or calcium plus once-weekly elcatonin (Elcitonin, Asahi Kasei Pharma, Tokyo, Japan) injection. Elcatonin treatment markedly improved diverse aspects of the QOL, whereas calcium alone did not. The current data suggest that osteoporosis, especially in the presence of vertebral fracture, is associated with compromised QOL, and therapeutic intervention for osteoporosis should be evaluated in terms of QOL, as well as in terms of increases in bone mineral density and fracture prevention.