Adherence to and appropriateness of anti-osteoporotic treatments in patients aged 50 and over in the Valencia Region (Spain). The ESOSVAL-AD study

Predictive Performance of the FRAX Tool Calibrated for Spain vs. an Age and Sex Model: Prospective Cohort Study with 9082 Women and Men Followed for up to 8 Years

In Spain, the Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX) was adapted using studies with a small number of patients, and there are only a few external validation studies that present limitations. In this prospective cohort study, we compared the performance of FRAX and a simple age and sex model. We used data from the ESOSVAL cohort, a cohort composed of a Mediterranean population of 11,035 women and men aged 50 years and over, followed for up to 8 years, to compare the discrimination, calibration, and reclassification of FRAX calibrated for Spain and a logistic model including only age and sex as variables. We found virtually identical AUC, 83.55% for FRAX (CI 95%: 80.46, 86.63) and 84.10% for the age and sex model (CI 95%: 80.91, 87.29), and there were similar observed-to-predicted ratios. In the reclassification analyses, patients with a hip fracture that were reclassified correctly as high risk by FRAX, compared to the age and sex model, were −2.86%, using either the 3% threshold or the observed incidence, 1.54% (95%CI: −8.44, 2.72 for the 3% threshold; 95%CI: −7.68, 1.97 for the incidence threshold). Remarkably simple and inexpensive tools that are easily transferable into electronic medical record environments may offer a comparable predictive ability to that of FRAX.

Prevalence of osteoporotic fracture risk factors and antiosteoporotic treatments in the Valencia region, Spain. The baseline characteristics of the ESOSVAL cohort

This study provides information on the prevalence of the most important risk factors for osteoporosis and osteoporotic fracture in a large sample of women and men from the Valencia region and also provides the FRAX 10-year major and hip fracture risks for this population, as well as data about the use of diagnostic tests and antiosteoporotic treatments.

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this study was to describe demographic characteristics, osteoporosis risk factors, the 10-year risk of osteoporotic fracture, and the use of densitometry and antiosteoporotic treatments in the Valencia region, Spain.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study using the ESOSVAL cohort baseline data was conducted. We analyze the data from 5,310 women and 5,725 men aged 50 and over who attended to 272 collaborating primary care centers in 2009-2010. We collected the demographic, anthropometric, clinical, and pharmacy data from the electronic medical record.

RESULTS

The mean age of participants was 64.3 years old for women and 65.6 years old for men. The most frequent fracture risk factors were sedentary life (22.2 %) and previous fracture (15.8 %) in women and low calcium intake (21.4 %) and current smoker (20.9 %) in men. According to FRAX(®), the 10-year risk of presenting a major fracture was 5.5 % for the women and 2.8 % for the men. The 10-year risk for hip fracture was 1.9 and 1.1 % for the women and the men, respectively; 23.8 % of the women and 5.2 % of the men had a densitometry test, 27.7 % of the women and 3.5 % of the men were taking calcium and/or vitamin D supplements, and 28.2 % of the women (22.0 % in the 50-64 age group) and 2.3 % of the men were taking antiosteoporotic drugs.

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of certain fracture risk factors not included in the FRAX tool (sedentary life, falls, low calcium intake) is high. In young women, their low risks estimated by FRAX contrast with the high figures for densitometry testing and treatment.