National Osteoporosis Foundation Releases Up-to-Date 'Physician's Guide to Prevention and Treatment of Osteoporosis'

8/21/2003

From: Lynn Chard-Petrinjak of the National Osteoporosis Foundation, 202-223-2226

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21 -- Recognizing an on-going and critical need to provide physicians with the most up-to-date information about preventing, diagnosing and treating osteoporosis, the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) is releasing an updated version of its unprecedented practice guidelines, the "Physician's Guide to Prevention and Treatment of Osteoporosis", first published in 1998.

"Due to the changing landscape of treatment options that exist today, we've taken the initiative to update the foremost and original guidelines on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis with new information. Since publishing the guide in 1998, it has become increasingly clear that many patients are not being given appropriate information about prevention, many are not having appropriate testing to diagnose or establish risk and once diagnosed, many are not being treated," said Bess Dawson-Hughes, MD, President of NOF. Dr. Dawson-Hughes is Professor of Medicine at Tufts University and Director of the Bone Metabolism Laboratory at the Jean Mayer United States Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. Dr. Dawson-Hughes led the NOF Development Committee responsible for compiling the updated publication.

Osteoporosis and low bone mass are a major public health threat for almost 44 million U.S. women and men aged 50 and older. It causes 1.5 million fractures of the hip, spine or distal forearm. Yet, as many as 95 percent of adults who break a bone are not evaluated for osteoporosis.

"The prevalence of osteoporosis underscores the importance of the Physician's Guide as a resource. The revised guide contains updated information on many areas including new treatments. It is our hope that the guide will stimulate increased dialogue around prevention, diagnosis and treatment, benefiting both health care professionals and their patients," says Judith Cranford, NOF Executive Director.

NOF collaborated with a broad array of medical representatives from its Interspecialty Medical Council including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American College of Radiology, the American College of Rheumatology, the American Geriatrics Society, the American Medical Association, the International Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the Endocrine Society. A condensed 'Physician's Guide' pocket version, based on the comprehensive guidelines, serves as a convenient reference guide. For information about ordering, please call 1-877-868-4520. Online orders are available at http://www.nof.org.

The National Osteoporosis Foundation is the leading voluntary health organization solely dedicated to promoting lifelong bone health in order to reduce the widespread prevalence of osteoporosis and associated fractures, while working to find a cure for the disease through programs of research, education and advocacy.