title: [Teaching about practice guidelines: osteoporosis].
abstract: Family physicians need to know how to teach students practical guidelines for frequent diseases such as osteoporosis. After the age of 50 years, the risk for osteoporotic fractures is 50% for women and 20% for men. It is therefore useful to prevent and screen for osteoporosis. Family physicians need to know how to recognize the clinical and biological risk factors for osteoporosis; they must know when to request a bone densitometry, the "gold standard" for diagnosis. They must also be able to integrate these factors within the clinical context to evaluate the absolute risk of osteoporosis-related fracture that determines the need for specific treatment. Numerous treatments with proven efficacy to reduce global fractures are available but it is important to know their different indications, risk/benefits and potential harmful side-effects.
authors.affiliation: Unité de recherche et d'enseignement en médecine de premier recours, CMU et Faculté de médecine, Université de Genève. johanna.sommer@unige.ch
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sommer
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Uebelhart
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005194:Family Practice; D006801:Humans; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic
chemical_list: D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents