Abstract
BackgroundTo evaluate the impact of osteoporosis on the patients' quality of life, particularly in the absence of fractures.Methods100 post-menopausal women (age 50-85) - 62 with uncomplicated primary osteoporosis and 38 with primary osteoporosis complicated by vertebral fractures; all already treated - were studied using two validated questionnaires: Qualeffo-41 for quality of life in osteoporosis, and Zung for depression. Data were compared to those of 35 controls of comparable age, affected by a different chronic disease (hypothyroidism).ResultsFamily history of osteoporosis and T-score of spine were similar in the two subgroups of osteoporotic women. Body mass index, age at menopause and education level were similar in the two subgroups of osteoporotic women and in the control group.The patients affected by osteoporosis perceived it as a disease affecting their personal life with undesirable consequences: chronic pain (66% of women with fractures and 40% of women without fractures), impaired physical ability, reduced social activity, poor well-being (21% of women without fractures) and depressed mood (42% of women irrespective of fractures). Overall, 41% of the women showed a reduced quality of life. On the contrary, in the control group only 11% reported a reduced quality of life.ConclusionThe quality of life of osteoporotic patients should be investigated even before fractures, in order to develop appropriate counselling, support and care interventions to help patients develop efficient strategies for accepting the disease and coping with it.
Highlights
To evaluate the impact of osteoporosis on the patients' quality of life, in the absence of fractures
The patients were divided in two groups: Group A: 62 women with uncomplicated osteoporosis, defined as a T-score
The control group and the two groups of women affected by osteoporosis were not significantly different
Summary
To evaluate the impact of osteoporosis on the patients' quality of life, in the absence of fractures. Osteoporosis is a very common disease of bone, and fragility fractures (i.e. fractures in the absence of relevant trauma) are its typical complication and the most common presenting sign. The diagnosis of osteoporosis was made only after the sudden occurrence of a fragility fracture. The most frequent sites of bone fragility fractures are wrist, vertebrae, hip, ribs and humerus. While hip fractures have (page number not for citation purposes). Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 2005, 3:78 http://www.hqlo.com/content/3/1/78. OP with fractures number of women age (years) BMI (kg/m2) age at menopause (years). BMD T-score lumbar spine -1.3 ± .3 § -3.2 ± .8 -3.3 ± 1. Femur education (years of school) 13
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