Osteoporosis Underdiagnosed, Undertreated in Elderly

A closer look at the conventional chest x-ray could help detect osteoporosis in older adults not earlier diagnosed with the disease, according to a new study.

Investigators said they reached this conclusion after assessing hundreds of chest x-rays for fractures of the vertebrae, the most typical bone fracture linked with osteoporosis but one that clinicians observed in only approximately one-third of patients.

"The most noteworthy finding in our study is the magnitude of the underdiagnosis and undertreatment of osteoporosis in elderly patients with a vertebral fracture,” stated researchers from the University of Alberta Hospital (Edmonton, CA) in at report in the April 25, 2005, issue of the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.

In 2001, the researchers conducted a cohort study with a random sample of 500 patients older than 60 years old who had gone to the emergency room and underwent chest radiography for any indication. More...