The authors of a recent UK study have highlighted the opportunity to improve osteoporosis management in care home residents.

Care home residents have more fracture risk factors and higher fracture rates, so researchers compared 8,366 care home residents aged 60 years and older with 16,143 matched controls. Several fracture risk factors were more common among care home residents than controls, including body mass index less than 18.5kg/m² (12 and 5 per cent respectively), history of falls (48.9 and 30.7 per cent), any previous fracture (26.5 and 10.8 per cent) and prior hip fracture (17.1 and 5.8 per cent). 

Among residents, the fracture rate was 49.8 and 27.6 per 1,000 person-years in women and men respectively. Among controls, the fracture rate was 34.3 and 14.7.

Post-fracture osteoporosis diagnosis and treatment rates were low. Among care home residents who experienced fractures, 21.9 per cent received an osteoporosis diagnosis. The proportion starting osteoporosis treatment ranged from 21.2 per cent after a hip fracture to 4 per cent following a vertebral fracture. 

Overall, 45.9 per cent of care home residents remained on osteoporosis treatment after 12 months declining to 5.1 per cent at 48 months. (BJGP Open DOI: 10.3399/BJGPO.2022.0142)