Geographic Variation in Osteoporosis Treatment in Postmenopausal Women: A 15-Year Longitudinal Analysis.

CONTEXT

Osteoporosis affects more than half of older women, but many are not treated. Whether treatment differs between rural and urban areas is unknown.

OBJECTIVE

To examine differences in osteoporosis treatment among postmenopausal women living in urban and rural areas of Australia.

METHODS

Women participating in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health, a prospective longitudinal cohort study, born between 1946-1951, and with osteoporosis or fractures, were included. Surveys from 2004 to 2019 were linked to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (government-subsidized medications) to assess osteoporosis treatment and adherence, comparing geographical areas.

RESULTS

Of the 4259 women included (mean age, 55.6 years), 1703 lived in major cities, 1629 inner regional, 794 outer regional, and 133 remote areas. Over the 15-year follow-up, 1401 (32.9%) women received treatment, including 47.4% of women with osteoporosis and 29.9% with fractures. Women in outer regional and remote areas were less likely to use antiosteoporosis treatment than those in major cities on univariable analysis (outer regional odds ratio, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.72-0.95; remote, 0.65; 0.49-0.86), but this did not remain significant on multivariable analysis. Median duration of use was 10 to 36 months, adherence varied by treatment type (34%-100%) but was not related to incident fractures, and of the women who stopped denosumab, 85% did not receive another consolidating treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

One-third of women with osteoporosis/fractures received treatment, and adherence was low. There was no difference in treatment use between urban and rural areas after adjusting for risk factors, although the specific treatment used, and adherence, differed.