title: Patient profile in a bone health and osteoporosis prevention service in Ireland.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To (1) characterise a cohort of patients attending a major osteoporosis clinic in Ireland and (2) examine the prescribing of preventative therapies amongst these patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were taken from 2006-2007 on patients attending the Osteoporosis Clinic at St. James's Hospital, Dublin. Information gathered included age, gender, fracture history, past medical and surgical history, co-morbidities, the results of the first DXA scans, anti-resorptive therapies along with other medications prescribed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of all patients 87.6% were female and the mean age was 68 years (SD = 14.31). In total 166 (74%) patients had osteoporosis, 40 (17.8%) had osteopenia and 18 patients (8%) had normal T-score values, 163 (72.7%) had a history of a fracture. Only 13.7% of the patients did not have a documented history of other co-morbidities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Comprehensive services such as the Osteoporosis Clinic at St. James's Hospital can provide the necessary screening, monitoring and prescribing of appropriate osteoporosis medications with additional follow-up if required to this at risk group reducing the unnecessarily traumatic effects of the disease on patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, St. James's Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland. mcgowab@tcd.ie
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: McGowan
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Marry
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Walsh
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Casey
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015519:Bone Density; D001851:Bone Diseases, Metabolic / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data