Bad to the bones: prescribing of drugs for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis in patients on chronic glucocorticoids

Of patients prescribed systemic glucocorticoids, this study identifies the proportion prescribed osteoporosis pharmacologic treatment and associated characteristics. Overall, 13.2% of patients were prescribed osteoporosis pharmacologic treatment. Predictors included documented osteoporosis, past DXA or fracture, and provision of care within a department using embedded protocols, suggesting electronic medical record-based tools may be beneficial.

This study aimed to identify a cohort of patients at risk for glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis based on their prescribed glucocorticoid regimens and to quantify the proportion who were also prescribed osteoporosis pharmacologic treatment. The secondary objective was to recognize patient characteristics associated with receiving such treatment.

A retrospective single-site cohort study used prescription order data to identify 7774 adults prescribed chronic glucocorticoids and measure the proportion also prescribed osteoporosis pharmacologic treatment.

Of the total cohort, 1026/7774 (13.2%) had osteoporosis pharmacologic treatment prescribed. Of the subgroups prescribed a prednisone-equivalent of 5, 10, or 20 mg per day or more for at least 180 days, 584/4262 (13.7%), 153/1048 (14.6%), and 47/344 (13.7%) had treatment prescribed. Factors independently associated with osteoporosis pharmacologic treatment initiation included having osteoporosis or osteopenia on the problem list (OR = 4.45, 95% CI 3.70–5.34), history of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) screening (OR = 2.18, 95% CI 1.82–2.62), history of fracture (OR = 1.83, 95% CI 1.54–2.167), and longer duration of glucocorticoid use (OR = 1.33, 95% CI 1.10–1.59). The prescribing department was also a significant predictor of medication initiation, with cardiac transplant (OR = 6.04, 95% CI 3.97–9.17), oncology (OR = 4.11, OR 3.28–5.14), and lung transplant (OR = 1.51, 95% CI 1.08, 2.12) being positively correlated with this outcome, and nephrology (OR = 0.51, 95% CI 0.36–0.72) and kidney transplant (OR = 0.53, 95% CI 0.37, 0.75) being negatively correlated.

Prescribing rate of osteoporosis pharmacologic treatment in patients using chronic glucocorticoids is low. Examining practices with higher prescribing rates may offer insight into improving protection against osteoporosis-induced fractures.