This week the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) released new guidelines that more efficiently and effectively diagnose and treat postmenopausal osteoporosis.
According to the AACE, more than 10 million Americans have osteoporosis, and over 35 million more have low bone mass and are therefore at increased risk for developing osteoporosis and bone fractures. About 80 percent of these at-risk individuals are women, most of them postmenopausal.
The new guidelines will help reduce the risk of fractures related to osteoporosis and improve the quality of life for patients. The guidelines also lay out new treatments and suggests the use of the FRAX tool (a World Health Organization-developed tool which assesses fracture risk), and the NOF guide (created by the National Osteoporosis Foundation) to identify whether or not a person needs treatment.
Nelson B. Watts, MD, MACE, and Chair of the AACE Osteoporosis Task Force said in the press release:
We have used the best evidence to draft these guidelines, taking into consideration the economic impact of the disease and the need for efficient and effective evaluation and treatment of postmenopausal women with osteoporosis Right now less than one-third of the cases are diagnosed, and only one-seventh of women in the US with osteoporosis receive treatment.
AACE recommends high-risk postmenopausal women should be screened immediately and all women 65 and older should be screened routinely.
An executive summary of the guidelines will be published in the journal Endocrine Practice. The full report can be seen at AACE.com here.
