New online map shows snapshots of osteoporosis in 29 European countries

Osteoporosis is a serious and growing health problem in Europe, resulting in over 4.3 million fragility fractures and huge healthcare costs exceeding €56 billion per year. Nevertheless, it remains vastly underdiagnosed and undertreated, with around 71% of high-risk European women not receiving preventive treatment.

To highlight the issue from the perspective of world osteoporosis day, the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) has launched a new interactive online map that showcases key data from the European Osteoporosis Scoreboard (SCOPE 2021) and related compendium of country-specific reports.(1 2) The reports examine and describe the current burden of osteoporosis in each of the EU Member States plus Switzerland and the UK, and verify key metrics in four areas: disease burden; policy framework; service delivery; and use of the Services. The map provides an overview of five key facts and statistics for each of the 29 European countries. Viewers can then click to access their country’s more detailed illustrated fact sheet, with a comparative scoreboard.

The new map enhances the existing SCOPE 2021 platform which provides many resources including a summary report, country-specific fact sheets, slide decks and infographics.(3) All resources can be freely accessed used by researchers, osteoporosis advocates and policy makers who want it. to learn more about the burden of osteoporosis in individual European countries and in Europe as a whole. Importantly, SCOPE 2021 allows policy makers to benchmark their country’s osteoporosis burden, service delivery and uptake against other European countries, or to measure gaps and progress at National level.

Earlier this year, when releasing the country-specific SCOPE 2021 report, IOF Honorary President Professor John Kanis highlighted the vast differences in service provision and use across Europe, also noting:

“The 29 European countries studied in SCOPE 2021 face an enormous burden of osteoporosis and fragility fractures, with a substantial impact on current and future healthcare budgets. As the number of women and men aged 75 and more is expected to increase by more than 29% and 42% respectively between 2019 and 2034, we predict that the annual number of osteoporotic fractures will increase by approximately +24.8% during this period, reaching 5.34 million fractures of annual fragility.

“These alarming projections should prompt concerted action by all health authorities in Europe.”

Since its launch, the SCOPE 2021 initiative has been very influential and the results widely used to advocate for progress in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis in different European countries. In particular, the disconcerting finding that nearly 15 million high-risk European women are still untreated reveals a huge treatment gap and certainly suggests that there is an urgent need to prioritize prevention and care of osteoporosis.

Professor Cyrus Cooper, IOF President, said:

“Only nine of the 29 European countries studied in the SCOPE 2021 report recognize osteoporosis or musculoskeletal diseases as a national health priority. This must change. To spur preventive action, the IOF calls for a Europe-wide strategy and parallel national strategies to provide coordinated osteoporosis care and reduce debilitating fractures and their impact on people’s lives and systems. health.

The new SCOPE 2021 online map and related resources are available at https://www.osteoporosis.foundation/scope-2021

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References:

1. Willers C, Norton N, Harvey NC, Jacobson T, Johansson H, Lorentzon M, McCloskey EV, Borgström F, Kanis JA and the IOF SCOPE Review Board. Osteoporosis in Europe: A Compendium of country-specific reports. Arch Osteoporus 17, 23 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11657-021-00969-8
2. Kanis JA, Norton N, Harvey NC, Jacobson T, Johansson H, Lorentzon M, McCloskey EV, Willers C, Borgström F. SCOPE 2021: a new dashboard for osteoporosis in Europe. Arch Osteoporus 16, 82 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11657-020-00871-9
3. SCOPE 2021 resources, including map, summary report and country sheets https://www.osteoporosis.foundation/scope-2021

About SCOPE 2021 and the Compendium of Country Reports
The mission of the SCOPE (Scorecard for Osteoporosis in Europe) project is to raise awareness of osteoporosis care in Europe. SCOPE allows an in-depth comparison of the quality of osteoporosis care across the 27 Member States of the European Union (EU27), as well as the United Kingdom and Switzerland (known as EU27+2). SCOPE summarizes key indicators of the burden of osteoporosis and its management in each of the Member States of the European Union to draw attention to the disparities in the provision of healthcare which can be used to establish benchmarks to inform patients, health care providers and policy makers in the field. EU. This update to the original SCOPE publication and dashboard compares the original results from 2010 to data as recent as 2019. osteoporosis over time, within and between EU27+2 countries. By developing this dashboard, the aim is to stimulate a balanced, common and optimal approach to the management of osteoporosis throughout the EU27+2. All SCOPE resources are available here: https://www.osteoporosis.foundation/scope-2021

About the OIF
The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) is the world’s largest non-governmental organization dedicated to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis and related musculoskeletal diseases. IOF members include scientific research committees as well as 300 patient, medical and research organizations – all working together to make fracture prevention and healthy mobility a global healthcare priority. https://www.osteoporosis.foundation @iofbonehealth

About World Osteoporosis Day
World Osteoporosis Day (WOD) is celebrated annually on October 20 to raise awareness about bone health and the prevention of osteoporosis. The campaign, this year under the banner “Take Action for Bone Health”, calls on individuals around the world to take action for bone health and the prevention of osteoporosis.
http://www.worldosteoporosisday.org #WorldOsteoporosisDay

Official WOD Partners: Amgen, Sunsweet, Zuellig Pharma, Abbott, Pharmanovia, Theramex