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Olof Johnell

Publications and source records attributed to Olof Johnell.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Multinational survey of osteoporotic fracture management.

Osteoporosis is characterized by a decreased bone mass and an increased bone fragility and susceptibility to fracture. Patients with a fragility fracture at any site have an increased risk of sustaining future fractures. Orthopedic surgeons manage most of these fractures and are often the only physician seen by the patient. Mounting evidence that orthopedic surgeons are not well attuned to osteoporosis led the Bone and Joint Decade (BJD) and the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) to survey 3,422 orthopedic surgeons in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand. The majority of the respondents in all countries had the opinion that the orthopedic surgeon should identify and initiate the assessment of osteoporosis in patients with fragility fractures. Heterogeneous practice pattern exist in different countries; however, identification and treatment of the osteoporotic patient seems to be insufficient in many areas: half of the orthopedic surgeons surveyed received little or no training in osteoporosis. Only approximately one in four orthopedic surgeons in France, the UK and New Zealand regarded themselves as knowledgeable about treatment modalities. Less than one-fifth of the orthopedic surgeons arranged for a surgically treated patient with a fragility fracture to have a bone mineral density (BMD) test. Twenty percent said that they never refer a patient after a fragility fracture for BMD. Only half of the orthopedic surgeons in southern Europe know about the importance of some external risk factors for hip fractures (cataracts, poor lighting, pathway obstacles, poor balance). In summary, this survey clearly indicates that many orthopedic surgeons still neglect to identify, assess and treat patients with fragility fractures for osteoporosis. More educational opportunities need to be offered to orthopedic surgeons through articles, web-based learning and educational seminars. Development of a simple clinical pathway from evidence-based guidelines is an important step to ensure that optimal care is provided for patients with fragility fractures.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

Epidemiology of osteoporotic fractures.

Several osteoporotic fractures such as hip fractures have a very high morbidity and mortality, and there are similar new findings for vertebral fractures. There have been several definitions of an osteoporotic fracture, and recently updated definitions have specified fractures occurring at a site associated with low BMD and which increase in incidence after the age of 50 years. Other definitions are based on clinical diagnosis. Lifetime risk of any osteoporotic fracture is very high and lies within the range of 40-50% in women and 13-22% for men. Measuring the true burden of osteoporotic fractures involves multiplying the morbidity of hip fractures according to age group: for women aged 50-54 years, the disability caused by osteoporotic fractures is 6.07 times that accounted for by hip fracture alone, and for women aged 80-84 years, the incidence of hip fractures should be multiplied by 1.55; for men aged 50-54 years, the incidence of hip fractures should be multiplied by 4.48, and for those aged 80-84 years by 1.50.

Aged↗

The impact of the use of multiple risk indicators for fracture on case-finding strategies: a mathematical approach.

The value of bone mineral density (BMD) measurements to stratify fracture probability can be enhanced in a case-finding strategy that combines BMD measurement with independent clinical risk indicators. Putative risk indicators include age and gender, BMI or weight, prior fracture, the use of corticosteroids, and possibly others. The aim of the present study was to develop a mathematical framework to quantify the impact of using combinations of risk indicators with BMD in case finding. Fracture probability can be expressed as a risk gradient, i.e. a relative risk (RR) of fracture per standard deviation (SD) change in BMD. With the addition of other continuous or categorical risk indicators a continuous distribution of risk indicators is obtained that approaches a normal distribution. It is then possible to calculate the risk of individuals compared with the average risk in the population, stratified by age and gender. A risk indicator with a gradient of fracture risk of 2 per SD identified 36% of the population as having a higher than average fracture risk. In individuals so selected, the risk was on average 1.7 times that of the general population. Where, through the combination of several risk indicators, the gradient of risk of the test increased to 4 per SD, a smaller proportion (24%) was identified as having a higher than average risk, but the average risk in this group was 3.1 times that of the population, which is a much better performance. At higher thresholds of risk, similar phenomena were found. We conclude that, whereas the change of the proportion of the population detected to be at high risk is small, the performance of a test is improved when the RR per SD is higher, indicated by the higher average risk in those identified to be at risk. Case-finding strategies that combine clinical risk indicators with BMD have increased efficiency, while having a modest impact on the number of individuals requiring treatment. Therefore, the cost-effectiveness is enhanced.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗

Intervention thresholds for osteoporosis in men and women: a study based on data from Sweden.

The aim of this study was to determine the threshold of fracture probability at which interventions became cost-effective in men and women, based on data from Sweden. We modeled the effects of a treatment costing $500 per year given for 5 years that decreased the risk of all osteoporotic fractures by 35% followed by a waning of effect for a further 5 years. Sensitivity analyses included a range of effectiveness (10-50%) and a range of intervention costs ($200-500/year). Data on costs and risks were from Sweden. Costs included direct costs, but excluded indirect costs due to morbidity. A threshold for cost-effectiveness of approximately $45,000/QALY gained was used. Cost of added years was included in a sensitivity analysis. With the base case ($500 per year; 35% efficacy) treatment in women was cost-effective with a 10-year hip fracture probability that ranged from 1.2% at the age of 50 years to 7.4% at the age of 80 years. Similar results were observed in men except that the threshold for cost-effectiveness was higher at younger ages than in women (2.0 vs 1.2%, respectively, at the age of 50 years). Intervention thresholds were sensitive to the assumed effectiveness and intervention cost. The exclusion of osteoporotic fractures other than hip fracture significantly increased the cost-effectiveness ratio because of the substantial morbidity from such other fractures, particularly at younger ages. We conclude that the inclusion of all osteoporotic fractures has a marked effect on intervention thresholds, that these vary with age, and that available treatments can be targeted cost-effectively to individuals at moderately increased fracture risk.

Age Factors↗

Osteoporosis and the global competition for health care resources.

Global aging superimposed on existing infectious diseases and trauma will aggravate competition for health care resources to diagnose and treat osteoporosis. Efforts to implement public health measures are needed, but the targeted approach to assessment and treatment of high-risk individuals must also be refined. Increases in the elderly population worldwide will cause a dramatic rise in osteoporotic fractures, but other age-related diseases will increase as well. Changes will be superimposed on existing public health problems (e.g., malaria, alcoholism), and these acute health care needs will take priority in some areas. Societies in most parts of the world may have to limit osteoporosis control to broad public health measures, and such efforts (e.g., calcium and vitamin D supplementation) should be supported. In these regions, clinical decision-making will generally be limited to treating patients with fractures (who presumably have already failed any public health measures in place), or in a few wealthy countries, to patients with low bone density identified by case-finding. Case-finding approaches will vary with the resources available, although unselective (mass) screening by bone densitometry is largely ineffective and unaffordable anywhere. The key to clinical decision-making on behalf of individuals will be an assessment of absolute fracture risk, and the tools needed to predict the risk of an osteoporotic fracture over the next 10 years are now being developed. These include bone density measures, but also incorporate other risk factors (e.g., fracture history, corticosteroid use), which may allow extension of fracture risk prediction to nonwhite populations and to men. Even with a universal risk prediction tool, cost-effective treatment thresholds will vary by country based on the level of fracture risk in the region and on the resources available for health care. To better compete for these resources, efforts should be made to lower the cost of osteoporosis interventions. Additionally, evidence is needed that these interventions are really effective in reducing fractures in the community.

Aging↗

Risk factors for incident vertebral fractures in men and women: the Rotterdam Study.

UNLABELLED: Low BMD and prevalent vertebral fractures are known risk factors for incident vertebral fractures. In 3001 men and women from the Rotterdam Study, prevalent nonvertebral fractures, early menopause, current smoking, and walking aid use were also strong risk factors for incident vertebral fractures. INTRODUCTION: Thus far, age, low BMD, and prevalent vertebral fractures are the only well-known risk factors for incident vertebral fractures. Therefore, our aim was to investigate other potential risk factors for incident vertebral fractures in the elderly. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was based on the Rotterdam Study, a large prospective population-based cohort study among men and women > or =55 years of age. For 3001 subjects, spinal radiographs were obtained at baseline and again approximately 6.3 years later. These follow-up radiographs were scored for vertebral fractures using the McCloskey-Kanis method. Whenever a vertebral fracture was detected, the radiograph was compared with the baseline radiograph. If this fracture was not already present at baseline, it was considered incident. At baseline, information on potential risk factors was obtained. RESULTS: Low BMD and prevalent vertebral fractures were strong risk factors for incident vertebral fractures in both men and women (RR 2.3 [1.6-3.3] and 2.2 [0.9-5.0] for men and RR 2.1 [1.6-2.6] and 4.1 [2.5-6.7] for women, respectively). For women, age, early menopause (< or =45 years of age; RR 1.0 [1.1-3.5]), current smoking (2.1 [1.2-3.5]), and walking aid use (2.5 [1.1-5.5]) were additional independent risk factors. For men, only a history of nonvertebral fractures was a significant independent risk factor (OR 2.4 [1.2-4.8]). CONCLUSION: Apart from low BMD and prevalent vertebral fractures, prevalent nonvertebral fractures are associated with an increased incident vertebral fracture risk in men. In women, early menopause, current smoking, and walking aid use are additional independent risk factors for incident vertebral fractures.

Aged↗

Associations between baseline risk factors and vertebral fracture risk in the Multiple Outcomes of Raloxifene Evaluation (MORE) Study.

UNLABELLED: Different risk factors may influence the effectiveness of osteoporosis therapies. The interaction of 30 baseline risk factors and the effectiveness of raloxifene in the MORE study were assessed. The efficacy of raloxifene in reducing vertebral fractures is largely independent of the presence of clinical risk factors for osteoporotic fractures. INTRODUCTION: The aim of this analysis was to determine the effect of different risk factors on the effectiveness of raloxifene to reduce vertebral fractures in the Multiple Outcomes of Raloxifene Evaluation (MORE) study using logistic regression models. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The association was assessed using univariate analyses and a multivariate model between 30 potential risk factors at baseline and the risk of vertebral fractures after 3 years in the placebo group, as well as the interaction of risk factors with raloxifene therapy (at a dose of 60 or 120 mg/day). RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: In the univariate analysis of the placebo group, after adjusting for baseline lumbar spine BMD (LS BMD), short stature (odds ratio [OR] = 1.18), age (OR = 1.38), years since menopause (OR = 1.38), impaired cognitive function, visuospatial capabilities (OR = 1.19), impaired musculoskeletal strength (OR = 1.23), low femoral neck BMD (OR = 1.21), and prior vertebral fracture (OR = 4.95) were significantly associated with the incidence of new vertebral fractures. In the univariate analysis, significant interactions were observed between raloxifene treatment and age (p = 0.04), serum triglycerides (p = 0.03), LS BMD (p = 0.08), and diabetes mellitus (p = 0.04). In the multivariate analysis, the effectiveness of raloxifene was independent of almost all risk factors, with the exception of baseline serum triglyceride level and LS BMD, suggesting an increased efficacy of raloxifene in patients with increased triglyceride levels (p = 0.006) and lower LS BMD values (p = 0.008) at baseline. These data suggest that the efficacy of raloxifene in reducing vertebral fractures is largely independent of the presence of clinical risk factors for osteoporotic fractures.

Analysis of Variance↗

A retrospective analysis of health care costs for bone fractures in women with early-stage breast carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: In this retrospective data base study, the authors sought to estimate direct costs for bone fractures in women age > or =65 years with early-stage breast carcinoma and to compare those costs with treatment costs for bone fractures in older women without early-stage breast carcinoma. METHODS: Direct costs for bone fractures in patients with early-stage breast carcinoma, which consist of excess treatment costs for bone fracture and excess costs of long-term care for bone fracture, were evaluated by using the 1997-1998 Standard Analytical File. The statistical significance of the difference in inpatient costs, medical treatment costs, and long-term care admission rates were determined with the t test and the Fisher chi-square test, respectively. RESULTS: For older women with early-stage breast carcinoma, the direct costs for bone fracture were estimated at $45,579, and 57% of those costs came from treating the bone fracture (32% came from inpatient hospital costs, and 25% came from noninpatient hospital costs), 25% came from other excess treatment costs, and 18% came from excess long-term care costs. The women who had early-stage breast carcinoma and sustained bone fracture did not differ significantly from the women without early-stage breast carcinoma who sustained a bone fracture. CONCLUSIONS: Bone fracture was associated with high direct costs in older women with early-stage breast carcinoma. Additional research should include appropriate, incidence-based studies to investigate the potential benefit of an intervention for preventing bone fracture in this increasingly large patient population.

Age Distribution↗

A meta-analysis of prior corticosteroid use and fracture risk.

UNLABELLED: The relationship between use of corticosteroids and fracture risk was estimated in a meta-analysis of data from seven cohort studies of approximately 42,000 men and women. Current and past use of corticosteroids was an important predictor of fracture risk that was independent of prior fracture and BMD. INTRODUCTION: The aims of this study were to validate that corticosteroid use is a significant risk factor for fracture in an international setting and to explore the effects of age and sex on this risk. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied 42,500 men and women from seven prospectively studied cohorts followed for 176,000 patient-years. The cohorts comprised the EPOS/EVOS study, CaMos, the Rotterdam Study, Dubbo Osteoporosis Epidemiology Study (DOES), and prospective cohorts at Sheffield, Rochester, and Gothenburg. The effect of ever use of corticosteroids, BMD, age, and sex on all fracture, osteoporotic fracture, and hip fracture risk alone was examined using Poisson regression in each cohort and for each sex. The results of the different studies were merged from the weighted beta coefficients. RESULTS: Previous corticosteroid use was associated with a significantly increased risk of any fracture, osteoporotic fracture, and hip fracture when adjusted for BMD. Relative risk of any fracture ranged from 1.98 at the age of 50 years to 1.66 at the age of 85 years. For osteoporotic fracture, the range of relative risk was 2.63-1.71, and for hip fracture 4.42-2.48. The estimate of relative risk was higher at younger ages, but not significantly so. No significant difference in risk was seen between men and women. The risk was marginally and not significantly upwardly adjusted when BMD was excluded from the model. The risk was independent of prior fracture. In the three cohorts that documented current corticosteroid use, BMD was significantly reduced at the femoral neck, but fracture risk was still only partly explained by BMD. CONCLUSION: We conclude that prior and current exposure to corticosteroids confers an increased risk of fracture that is of substantial importance beyond that explained by the measurement of BMD. Its identification on an international basis validates the use of this risk factor in case-finding strategies.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗

Cost effectiveness of alendronate for the treatment of male osteoporosis in Sweden.

BACKGROUND: One third of all the hip fractures occur in men. The risk for mortality following hip fracture is higher for men compared to women. The Fracture Intervention Trial (FIT) showed that the bisphosphonate alendronate reduces the risk of fractures and increases bone mineral density (BMD) in osteoporotic women. Similar effects of alendronate were observed in men in some other trials. There are also results demonstrating alendronate to be cost-effective in the treatment of osteoporosis in women. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the cost effectiveness of alendronate for male osteoporosis in Sweden by assuming the same relative risk reduction of fractures in men as for women, based on the FIT trial. DESIGN: A Markov model earlier used to analyze cost effectiveness of alendronate in treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis in Sweden was adapted to fit a cohort of Swedish men. Cost effectiveness of alendronate vs. no treatment was assessed by transitioning men in the model over time between different health states. TIME HORIZON: The patients were followed from start of intervention until 100 years of age or death. In the base-case alendronate was assumed to have a fracture-risk-reducing effect for 10 years; a treatment duration period of 5 years followed by a 5-year period where the effect declined linearly to zero. RESULTS: Taking a societal perspective treating a 71-year-old man (mean age in the FIT) with low BMD and prior vertebral fracture (VFA) with alendronate was found to be associated with a cost of 14,843 per quality adjusted life year (QALY) gained. CONCLUSIONS: The results in this study indicate that treating osteoporotic men with alendronate was projected to be cost-effective, under the assumption of the same fracture-risk-reducing effect of alendronate for men as for women.

Aged↗

An age-related medullary expansion can have implications for the long-term fixation of hip prostheses.

BACKGROUND: Diaphyseal bone loss occurs mainly at the endosteal surface in the medullary cavity. Since the menopause is followed by an increase in bone loss, the size of the medullary cavity should theoretically increase during the postmenopausal period. If so, this might affect the long-term fixation of hip prostheses. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This 19-year prospective study evaluated bone loss and geometrical changes in 112 women, all premenopausal at baseline. Bone mineral density (BMD) and skeletal geometry, with special reference to the size of the medullary cavity, were estimated every other year by single-photon absorptiometry at the cortical site of the distal radius. RESULTS: After menopause, a decrease of 1.7 (95% CI 1.6-1.8)% occurred in the BMD every year, while an increase of 0.9 (0.8-1.0)% in the medullary width (endosteal width) too place every year. The annual change in BMD was inversely correlated with the annual change in the medullary width (r = -0.5, p < 0.001). The quartile of women with the largest BMD loss had a greater medullary expansion than the quartile of women with the least BMD loss (p < 0.001). INTERPRETATION: If the age-related expansion of the radial medullary cavity is a general phenomenon, this may have implications for the long-term fixation of hip prostheses.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗

Long term effects of oestrogen therapy on bone loss in postmenopausal women: a 23 year prospective study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the long term effect of oestrogen therapy on bone loss after menopause. DESIGN: Prospective observational study over 23 years. SETTING: Malmö, Sweden. SUBJECTS: Twenty-eight women taking oestrogen and 196 women not taking oestrogen during the follow up. METHODS: Bone mineral density of the forearm was measured by single-photon absorptiometry at age 48 and 72 years. Use of oestrogen therapy was noted. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Rate of forearm bone loss between the age of 48 and 72 years. RESULTS: Women taking oestrogen, for a median of 17 years (range 4 to 26), had 8.7 percentage points (95% CI 3.8-13.5) lower rate of bone loss compared with women not taking oestrogen during the same period. Each year of oestrogen therapy reduced the rate of bone loss by 0.8 percentage points (95% CI 0.2-1.4). CONCLUSIONS: The use of oestrogen seems to reduce the rate of bone loss over a period of 23 years, and the longer the duration of the therapy, the less bone loss.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗

Optimization of BMD measurements to identify high risk groups for treatment--a test analysis.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to develop a methodology to optimize the role of BMD measurements in a case finding strategy. We studied 2113 women > or = 75 years of age randomly selected from Sheffield, UK, and adjacent regions. Baseline assessment included hip BMD and clinical risk factors. Outcomes included death and fracture in women followed for 6723 person-years. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Poisson models were used to identify significant risk factors for all fractures and for death with and without BMD and the hazard functions were used to compute fracture probabilities. Women were categorized by fracture probability with and without a BMD assessment. A 10-year fracture probability threshold of 35% was taken as an intervention threshold. Discordance in categorization of risk (i.e., above or below the threshold probability) between assessment with and without BMD was examined by logistic regression as probabilities of re-classification. Age, prior fracture, use of corticosteroids, and low body mass index were identified as significant clinical risk factors. RESULTS: A total of 16.8% of women were classified as high risk based on these clinical risk factors. The average BMD in these patients was approximately 1 SD lower than in low-risk women; 21.5% of women were designated to be at high risk with the addition of BMD. Fifteen percent of all women were reclassified after adding BMD to clinical risk factors, most of whom lay near the intervention threshold. When a high probability of reclassification was accepted (without a BMD test) for high risk to low risk (p1< or = 0.8) and a low probability accepted for low to high risk (P2 < or = 0.2), BMD tests would be required in only 21% of the population. CONCLUSION: We conclude that the use of clinical risk factors can identify elderly women at high fracture risk and that such patients have a low average BMD. BMD testing is required, however, in a minority of women--a fraction that depends on the probabilities accepted for classification and the thresholds of risk chosen. These findings need to be validated in other cohorts at different ages and from different regions of the world.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗

Forearm bone mineral density in 1294 middle-aged women: a strong predictor of fragility fractures.

The aim of this study was to find out whether a single bone mineral density (BMD) measurement performed at middle age in early postmenopausal women could predict future fragility fractures. The Malmo Preventive Project, a population-based cardiovascular prevention study, included a subgroup of 1294 women, mean age 53, on which forearm BMD measurements were made using single-photon absorptiometry (SPA). Risk ratios (RRs) were calculated for an age-adjusted decrease in BMD of one standard deviation. During the 9-yr follow-up, 65 women sustained 86 fractures. The data were analyzed with Cox's proportional hazard analysis. The relative risk for sustaining any fragility fracture were 2.02 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.56-2.61) and 1.62 (CI = 1.26-2.08) at the distal and proximal forearm BMD measurement, respectively. The risk increase was significant for forearm fracture at the distal BMD level (RR = 1.94; range = 1.40-2.68) and at the proximal BMD level (RR = 1.77; range = 1.29-2.42). Our study is one of the first to show that a BMD measurement in a population at age 50 can predict fracture over almost 10 yr, indicating that early identification of women with increased fracture risk is possible, and the cost-effectiveness of such an approach needs to be further evaluated.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗

Cost effectiveness of raloxifene in the treatment of osteoporosis in Sweden: an economic evaluation based on the MORE study.

BACKGROUND: The Multiple Outcomes of Raloxifene Evaluation (MORE) study showed that treatment with raloxifene reduces the risk of vertebral fracture and breast cancer in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. OBJECTIVE: Based on the MORE study the aim of the present study was to assess the cost effectiveness of raloxifene (compared with no treatment) for the treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women in Sweden. DESIGN: A revised version of a previously developed computer simulation model was used. The impact of the risk-reducing effect of raloxifene on vertebral fractures and breast cancer on cost effectiveness was analysed using a clinical and a morphometric definition of vertebral fracture. Benefits of raloxifene treatment were measured in quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) and life-years gained. The study estimated the cost effectiveness mainly from a healthcare perspective but the cost effectiveness taking a societal perspective was also analysed. RESULTS: Intervention costs (in Swedish kronor [SEK] and euros [euro], year 2001 values) in postmenopausal women with a relative risk of vertebral fracture of 2 were SEK372000 (euro40000), SEK303000 (euro33000) and SEK263000 (euro28000) per QALY for women aged 60, 70 and 80 years, at start of treatment, respectively, when the clinical vertebral definition was used. The cost effectiveness using a clinical morphometric vertebral fracture definition was similar to the cost effectiveness using a clinical vertebral fracture definition. CONCLUSIONS: In relation to accepted threshold values for cost per QALY in Sweden, this model indicates, with its underlying assumptions and data, that raloxifene (compared with no treatment) is cost effective for the treatment of postmenopausal women at an increased risk of vertebral fracture, from the Swedish healthcare and societal perspectives.

Adult↗

Vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty in the fractured osteoporotic spine.

Percutaneous vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty have during the last decade gained an increasing popularity in the treatment of osteoporotic fractures of the spine. The techniques, clinical results and complications are described. There is however a disturbing lack of scientific evidence regarding the efficacy of the procedures, no controlled studies are published. An ongoing prospective randomised study is presented.

Fractures, Spontaneous↗

Excess mortality after hospitalisation for vertebral fracture.

An excess mortality is well described after vertebral fracture. Deaths are in part related to co-morbidity, but could also be due to the fracture event itself, either directly or indirectly. The aim of this study was to examine the quantum and pattern of mortality following vertebral fracture. We identified 16,051 men and women aged 50 years or more with a vertebral fracture that required hospitalization in 28.8 million person years from the patient register of Sweden. Mortality after vertebral fracture was examined using Poisson models applied to fracture patients and compared to that of the general population. At all ages, the risk of death was markedly increased immediately after the event. After a short period of declining risk, the risk increased with age at a rate that was higher than that of the general population and comparable to that 1 year after hip fracture. The latter function was assumed to be due to deaths related to co-morbidity and the residuum assumed to be due to the vertebral fracture. Causally related deaths comprised 28% of all deaths associated with vertebral fracture (depending on age). We conclude that a minority of deaths following hospitalization for vertebral fracture are attributable to the fracture itself under the assumptions we used.

Age Distribution↗