Ob/gyns fail to address osteoporosis risk

Nearly half of approximately 800 women responding to a recent survey reported that the subject of osteoporosis was not brought up during their last routine ob/gyn visit, according to the North American Menopause Society (NAMS). Further, more than a quarter of these women, 94% of whom were 46 years of age or older, said that they have never discussed osteoporosis with their ob/gyns. The online survey, which included 21 close-ended questions, was conducted by NAMS.

Other survey responses also pointed to a lack of communication between women and their ob/gyns about osteoporosis. Almost half of respondents reported that they never had discussed their personal risk of osteopenia or osteoporosis with their doctors. Although most women indicated that their ob/gyns had told them that broken bones could result from osteoporosis, respondents were not well aware of other potential consequences of osteoporosis, such as loss of height, dowager's hump, and disability or immobility.

In addition, although 45 of the women surveyed had broken a bone in sites commonly associated with osteoporosis during the past 5 years, more than half of these women reported that their ob/gyn was unaware of the fracture.