Selection of individuals for prevention of fractures due to bone fragility.

Most patients with fractures go untreated because of the lack of awareness of osteoporosis. Treatment is indicated for women and men with osteoporosis and women and men with fractures with either osteoporosis or osteopenia because (a) fractures increase morbidity and mortality, (b) the burden of fractures is increasing because longevity is increasing, and (c) bone loss accelerates, rather than decelerates in old age. The indication for drug therapy is less clear in women or men with osteopenia because drugs have not been proved to reduce fracture risk in this group. There is no evidence that treating individuals with only risk factors reduces the fracture rate. Screening has not been shown to reduce the burden of fractures. Altering the bone mineral density by a few percent in the population is likely to reduce the number of fractures, but how this can be achieved is unknown. The rigorously investigated drugs reducing the spine fracture rate are alendronate, raloxifene and risedronate. Calcium and vitamin D reduce hip fractures in nursing home residents but not community-dwellers. In the community, only alendronate and risedronate have been reported to reduce hip fractures in randomized trials. The evidence for hormone replacement therapy is less satisfactory. It is likely to reduce the number of spinal fractures, but its role in hip fracture prevention is uncertain. Only alendronate has been reported to reduce spine fractures in men with osteoporosis. Evidence for the use of other drugs (calcitonin, fluoride, anabolic steroids and active vitamin D metabolites) in women or men is insufficient to justify their use. Copyright 2000 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.