The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF), in cooperation with medical and patient societies from throughout Latin America, has today published a landmark report which compiles osteoporosis-related data on 14 countries and the region as a whole. The report shows that fragility fractures due to osteoporosis are predicted to more than double in some countries in the coming decades.
Osteoporosis, which literally means 'porous bones', is a disease which causes bones to become fragile and more likely to break. Older adults, and post-menopausal women in particular, are the population groups most susceptible to fractures caused by osteoporosis.
One of the key findings of the report 'Latin America Audit: Epidemiology, Costs and Burden of Osteoporosis in 2012' is the expected increase in the ageing population. In the 14 countries examined in the report, between 13 and 29 per cent of the current population is aged 50 years and older. By 2050, these estimations will increase from between 28 to 49 per cent. More significantly, the percentage increase in the 70 and over population will average 280%. Due to continued advances in healthcare, the developing nations highlighted in the Audit are expected to have, on average, life expectancy increases of six years by the year 2050. The impact of these ageing populations will undoubtedly include an increase in the percentage of the population diagnosed with osteoporosis and an increase in the number of people with related fragility fractures. Other age-related chronic diseases of the musculoskeletal system, such as osteoarthritis, will also be on the rise.
"Personal suffering and disability are just one side of the coin," said Professor José Zanchetta, lead author of the report, head of the Metabolic Research Institute and Professor of Osteology at the USAL University in Buenos Aires. "Vertebral and hip fractures caused by osteoporosis also have a wider socio-economic impact on health care systems and communities. Hip fractures are not only costly to treat, but as a result of these fractures many seniors who would otherwise live independent, productive lives will either die prematurely or become dependent on their families or spend the rest of their lives in nursing homes."
The Latin America Audit, which includes data from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela, had many key findings, including;
Speaking at the launch of the Audit in Sao Paulo, Brazil, IOF President Professor John A. Kanis noted, "As this Audit report confirms, two core problems are the lack of reliable data and the fact that health care authorities are not addressing the far-reaching consequences of undiagnosed and untreated osteoporosis." He added, "With advances in life expectancy and growing ageing populations, health care authorities in Latin America must give increased attention to the costly chronic diseases which will have such a profound impact on their communities in the near future."
Following the launch of the Audit national IOF member societies in the region will meet to discuss efforts to implement the recommendations of the Audit.
"This Audit serves as a call to action for collaborative efforts to be sustained between national osteoporosis societies, key opinion leaders, academic institutions, policy makers and government bodies throughout Latin America," said Professor Patricia Clark, rheumatologist and Head of the Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Hospital Infantil de Mexico-Faculty of Medicine UNAM, Mexico City. "There is an urgent need to gather solid epidemiological data, improve awareness and education, put in place effective preventive strategies, and improve availability of diagnostic tests and affordable medication to stop the fragility fracture cascade. Only with collaborative and focused strategies can the care gap be closed."
The launch of the Audit precedes the opening of the IOF Regionals – 1st Latin American Osteoporosis Meeting, to take place in Sao Paulo, Brazil from May 24-27, 2012.
Information about the Latin American Audit is available in English, Portuguese and Spanish at http://www.osteoporosisinlatinamerica.com
The Latin America Audit can also be downloaded on the IOF website at http://www.iofbonehealth.org/regional-audits