Abstract
BackgroundBoneTour is a campaign conducted throughout the Italian territory for the assessment of Italian people bone status and for the prevention of osteoporosis.MethodsA total of 7305 sequential subjects of both sexes were screened, collecting clinical data through the FRAX™ questionnaire, and measuring heel bone stiffness by Quantitative Ultrasonography (QUS). The 10-year risk for hip and major osteoporotic fractures was calculated taking into account personal or family history of fragility fracture, smoking, alcohol abuse, rheumatoid arthritis, prolonged steroids assumption. Additional risk factors were evaluated, including early menopause, poor sunlight exposure, low dietary calcium intake, physical inactivity, number of pregnancies, months of lactation, tobacco cigarettes smoked per year, specific causes of secondary osteoporosis. Through a correlation study, the influence of each factor on the development of osteoporosis was analyzed.ResultsAs many as 18 % of women suffer from osteoporosis, as defined by QUS T-score. The calculation of FRAX™ confirmed the weight of the already known risk factors. The correlation study revealed the significance of some additional factors, such as hyperthyroidism, nephrolithiasis, Crohn disease, ulcerative colitis, celiac disease, poor sun exposure, and oophorectomy before age 50.ConclusionsThe high prevalence of secondary osteoporosis in the Italian population clearly indicates the importance of additional risk factors not yet included in the FRAX™ algorithm, for which preventive measures should be considered. Screening campaigns may allow both early diagnosis and access to treatment.
Highlights
BoneTour is a campaign conducted throughout the Italian territory for the assessment of Italian people bone status and for the prevention of osteoporosis
Osteoporosis, estimated to affect 22 millions of women and 5.5 millions of men in the European Union in 2010 [1], is known as the silent epidemic because it does not manifest until a fracture occurs
As regards hyperparathyroidism (HPT), this being a condition often unrecognized by the patient, we investigated the history of recurrent and/or familiar nephrolithiasis, which can be associated with loss of BMD even when not due to HPT [19]
Summary
BoneTour is a campaign conducted throughout the Italian territory for the assessment of Italian people bone status and for the prevention of osteoporosis. FRAXTM is a widely used risk algorithm, developed by the World Health Organization to predict the 10-year risk of hip and major osteoporotic fractures [2,3,4]. In many parts of the world, in some countries and in some less well-served areas, DXA is not available and some alternative measurements of bone strength, i.e., ultrasound, have been suggested as a practical alternative to help raise awareness of the disease [5,6,7,8,9]. The results of a large epidemiological campaign conducted via a mobile van carried out throughout Italy in 2011 and 2012, called “BoneTour”, are described.
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