Significant regional differences in prescribing rates for osteoporosis medication after an osteoporotic fracture in Finland 

Background To date, there are no published data from Finland regarding the proportion of patients prescribed osteoporosis medication after an osteoporotic fracture. 

Methods Our retrospective registry-based study assessed the proportion of patients in Finland experiencing a fragility fracture between January 2016 and December 2019 who received a prescription for osteoporosis medication. We used data from the Finnish institute for health and welfare (THL) and the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela).

Results In the 6 and 12 months following fracture, 9% and 12% of patients, respectively, were prescribed osteoporosis medication, with slightly higher rates for hip (11%) and vertebral (18%) fractures. Prescribing rates increased with patient age; 6-month prescribing rates after hip fracture ranged from 3% to 32% across different hospital districts.

Conclusions Compared with published data, we observed low prescribing rates for osteoporosis medication within 6–12 months of a fragility fracture in Finland. For hip fractures, prescribing rates differed across hospital districts; however, our results do not include zoledronic acid which is not recorded in the databases used. Our data show there is a need to enhance secondary prevention of osteoporosis and increase the prescribing of osteoporosis medications after fragility fracture.

Outi Isomeri, Yrjänä Hynninen, Päivi Lakkakorpi, Wolf Angyal, Noora Pinola, Saara Metso, Niina Matikainen, Vesa Komssi, Riku Kiviranta, Joonas Sirola 

Outi Isomeri

M.Sc. (Pharm.), M.Sc. (Techn.)

Senior Manager, Nordic Healthcare Group

The study was funded by Amgen