Objective: The aim of the present study was to identify women at high risk of having osteoporosis according to the clinical judgment of their General Practitioners, but without a previous diagnosis of osteoporosis.
Design: Cross-sectional survey.
Participants: The General Practitioners were asked to select a sample of women aged 65 years or more who could be affected by osteoporosis but had never been diagnosed nor treated: this sample included 8,268. Moreover, 8,956 women asked to be included in the study on a voluntary basis, and were analyzed separately.
Measurements: Participants were referred to a mobile unit equipped with GE Lunar Express Ultras (Achilles), where they were administered a questionnaire and underwent a QUS examination. They were classified at high, moderate or low risk of having osteoporosis according to the 2007 International Society for Clinical Densitometry official position.
Results: The prevalence rate of women at high risk of having osteoporosis was 12.5%; 53% were considered at moderate risk. Logistic regressions revealed that age, early age at menopause, history of fractures, dysthyroidism and smoking were associated with high and moderate risk.
Conclusions: Results suggest that General Practitioners are able to identify women at risk of having osteoporosis, but often do not treat them, suggesting that osteoporosis in Italy is still a neglected condition. The strength of the association of risk factors is similar in women at high and medium risk: this may raise a debate on the validity of this classification in the Italian population.