Less than half of women with osteoporosis take calcium, vitamin D

Tag : calcium

ASBMR 30th Annual Meeting
New research presented at the American Society for Bone and MineralResearch 30th Annual Meeting in Montreal highlighted differences inattitudes towards osteoporosis supplementations.
Researchers evaluated treatment knowledge among 383 women aged 50years and older with postmenopausal osteoporosis in France,Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. Women were questioned onbisphosphonate adherence and calcium and vitamin D supplementation.
Ninety percent of women in Spain reported using some sort ofsupplementation compared with 74% in Germany, 69% in France and 61%in the United Kingdom. Less than half reported taking both calciumand vitamin D with bisphosphonates — 49% in Germany, 46% inFrance, 43% in Spain and 37% in the United Kingdom.
U.K. women were least likely to recognize the importance of calciumand vitamin D supplementation — one-third reported neverdiscussing supplementation with a physician. Yet, more than half(51%) of the women in Spain reported regular discussions with theirphysician compared with 36% in Germany, 24% in France and 9% in theUnited Kingdom.
Up to 30% of women in all four countries reported regularly missinga dose. The reasons most commonly cited were lack of knowledgeabout the benefits of supplementation and no detailed instructionfrom the physician.
The researchers cautioned interpretation of these data, as they are“claimed data” based on patient testimonials. – by Katie Kalvaitis


Given the growing number of reports of the high prevalence ofvitamin D deficiency in countries throughout the world, it is notsurprising to learn that many European patients treated withosteoporosis drugs do not take vitamin D and calcium supplements.This is likely to have clinical consequences since a number ofstudies have indicated reduced responsiveness of vitamin D-deficient patients who are taking bisphosphonates for treatment ofosteoporosis. Clearly, efforts are needed to increase physicianunderstanding of the importance of vitamin D and calcium inmaintaining bone health so that they can encourage their patientsto maintain optimal treatment of osteoporosis.
– Frederick Singer, MD
Director, Endocrine/Bone Disease Program
John Wayne Cancer Institute at Saint John’s Health Center,Santa Monica
For more information: Boonen S, Fardellone P, Quesada J, et al. Abstract #08-A-731.Presented at: American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 30thAnnual Meeting; Sept. 12-16, 2008; Montreal.