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Senior Citizen Health & Medicine
Older Women More Likely to Take Osteoporosis Drugs
if Monthly, with Reminder
Family doctors
studied over 1,000 UK women, average age of 68
July 20, 2006 - Women who took an osteoporosis drug
once a month and received extra telephone support from trained nurses
showed 47 per cent greater persistence with their drug treatment than
those who took a weekly tablet, according to a study in the August issue
of IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice. One in three
women over 50 suffer from osteoporosis worldwide, according to the
International Osteoporosis Foundation.
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Health & Medicine |
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Taking part in the PERSIST study were 103 primary
care centers across the UK between January 2005 and January 2006, with
1,076 women each agreeing to participate for a six-month period.
There were 542 participants prescribed a single
70mg dose of alendronate once a week and the remainder received a single
monthly 150mg dose of ibandronate and were enrolled in a free patient
support program designed to complement the drug.
The monthly ibandronate group received a welcome
pack providing basic information about osteoporosis and a monthly
reminder call from a trained nurse one to three days before the dose was
due.
The nurses also used the opportunity to confirm
dosing instructions, provide further information about osteoporosis and
stress the importance of adhering to the treatment regime.
There were 835 women who completed the study,
leaving 440 in the monthly ibandronate group and 395 in the weekly
alendronate group.
Of these, just under 57 per cent of patients
receiving monthly ibandronate tablets, together with patient support,
were taking the medication after six months. The persistence rate for
patients on weekly alendronate tablets was 39 per cent.
"Getting patients to continue taking prescribed
medication is a major problem for healthcare professionals" says lead
author Dr Alun Cooper, a family doctor from the Bridge Medical Centre in
Crawley, UK.
"The World Health Organization estimates that only
50 per cent of patients with chronic diseases in developing countries
stick to treatment regimes. And the American Heart Association has
identified failing to take medication correctly as the number one
problem in treating ill health today.
"Sufferers find that their bones become
increasingly brittle and this increases the risk of serious factures,
especially if they don't take their medication on a regular basis" says
Dr Cooper. "It's estimated that one in two women over 50 will experience
a fracture at some time because of fragile bones, so any treatment
regime that improves compliance is to be welcomed."
The women who took part in the study had an average
age of 68 and more than a third had a family history of osteoporosis.
Among participants, 45 per cent had already
suffered a fracture, with just under a third reporting one incident and
a further ten per cent reporting two. Four per cent had experienced
three to five factures.
"Our study clearly shows that women who were
prescribed monthly doses of ibandronate, and enrolled on a patient
support programme, were much more likely to continue taking their
medication than those on weekly doses of alendronate" concludes Dr
Cooper.
"Evidence suggests that adhering to regular
treatment for osteoporosis improves bone mass density and reduces
fracture rates. This, in turn, reduces the social and economic burden of
this very common and debilitating chronic condition."
Editor's Note: Over 100 family doctors from more
than 30 counties across the UK took part in the PERIST research, which
was supported by Roche Products Limited.
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