Quality of life in post-menopausal osteoporosis.
BACKGROUND
To evaluate the impact of osteoporosis on the patients' quality of life, particularly in the absence of fractures.


METHODS
100 post-menopausal women (age 50-85)--62 with uncomplicated primary osteoporosis and 38 with primary osteoporosis complicated by vertebral fractures; all already treated--were studied using two validated questionnaires: Qualeffo-41 for quality of life in osteoporosis, and Zung for depression. Data were compared to those of 35 controls of comparable age, affected by a different chronic disease (hypothyroidism).


RESULTS
Family history of osteoporosis and T-score of spine were similar in the two subgroups of osteoporotic women. Body mass index, age at menopause and education level were similar in the two subgroups of osteoporotic women and in the control group. The patients affected by osteoporosis perceived it as a disease affecting their personal life with undesirable consequences: chronic pain (66% of women with fractures and 40% of women without fractures), impaired physical ability, reduced social activity, poor well-being (21% of women without fractures) and depressed mood (42% of women irrespective of fractures). Overall, 41% of the women showed a reduced quality of life. On the contrary, in the control group only 11% reported a reduced quality of life.


CONCLUSIONS
The quality of life of osteoporotic patients should be investigated even before fractures, in order to develop appropriate counselling, support and care interventions to help patients develop efficient strategies for accepting the disease and coping with it.
Bianchi
Maria Luisa
ML
Bone Metabolic Unit, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, IRCSS, Milan, Italy. ml.bianchi@auxologico.it
Orsini
Maria Rosa
MR
Saraifoger
Silvia
S
Ortolani
Sergio
S
Radaelli
Giovanni
G
Betti
Simonetta
S
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000209:etiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D019370:Observation; D015663:Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D012923:Social Class; D016103:Spinal Fractures / Q000209:etiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires