The burden of illness of osteoporosis in Canada

Abstract

SummaryTo update the 1993 burden of illness of osteoporosis in Canada, administrative and community data were used to calculate the 2010 costs of osteoporosis at $2.3 billion in Canada or 1.3% of Canada’s healthcare expenditures. Prevention of fractures in high-risk individuals is key to decrease the financial burden of osteoporosis.IntroductionSince the 1996 publication of the burden of osteoporosis in 1993 in Canada, the population has aged and the management of osteoporosis has changed. The study purpose was to estimate the current burden of illness due to osteoporosis in Canadians aged 50 and over.MethodsAnalyses were conducted using five national administrative databases from the Canadian Institute for Health Information for the fiscal-year ending March 31 2008 (FY 2007/2008). Gaps in national data were supplemented by provincial and community data extrapolated to national levels. Osteoporosis-related fractures were identified using a combination of most responsible diagnosis at discharge and intervention codes. Fractures associated with severe trauma codes were excluded. Costs, expressed in 2010 dollars, were calculated for osteoporosis-related hospitalizations, emergency care, same day surgeries, rehabilitation, continuing care, homecare, long-term care, prescription drugs, physician visits, and productivity losses. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to measure the impact on the results of key assumptions.ResultsOsteoporosis-related fractures were responsible for 57,413 acute care admissions and 832,594 hospitalized days in FY 2007/2008. Acute care costs were estimated at $1.2 billion. When outpatient care, prescription drugs, and indirect costs were added, the overall yearly cost of osteoporosis was over $2.3 billion for the base case analysis and as much as $3.9 billion if a proportion of Canadians were assumed to be living in long-term care facilities due to osteoporosis.ConclusionsOsteoporosis is a chronic disease that affects a large segment of the adult population and results in a substantial economic burden to the Canadian society.

Use of administrative data for national surveillance of osteoporosis and related fractures in Canada: results from a feasibility study

“…In 2010, the overall cost of osteoporosis was estimated to be over $2.3 billion among Canadians 50 years of age and older [1]. Globally, in the year 2000, there were an estimated 9.0 million low trauma fractures of which 1.6 million were at the hip, 1.7 million at the forearm, and 1.4 million were clinical vertebral fractures, resulting in a loss of 5.8 million disability adjusted life years [2].…”

Glucocorticoids predict 10-year fragility fracture risk in a population-based ambulatory cohort of men and women: Canadian Multicentre Osteoporosis Study (CaMos)

“…Although current guidelines indicate that those taking glucocorticoids should be concurrently treated with bisphosphonates, they do not indicate that osteoporosis treatment is needed for previous GC use. The higher observed absolute fracture rate in those who had previously been GC treated is important given that osteoporotic fractures cause deterioration in patients' quality of life and increase health care costs [15,16]. Furthermore, vertebral fractures and hip fractures are associated with an increased risk of death in those over the age of 50 years [17].…”

“…The doses and durations of GC therapy in our participants are not known and both amount and time on GC therapy relate to fracture risk [15][16][17][18]. Our study also included participants who only were treated with oral GC and did not use parenteral and higher dose forms of GC.…”

L’application des connaissances sur l’ostéoporose chez les jeunes adultes : nouvelles orientations pour les programmes de prévention

“…37.8.01f Introduction L'ostéoporose est la maladie métabolique des os la plus courante : elle touche près de 2 millions de Canadiens et près de 200 mil lions de personnes dans le monde 1,2 . Actuellement, une femme sur trois et un homme sur cinq en souffrent au Canada, et la maladie apparaît généralement au cours de la cinquantaine 3 .…”