Table 5. Screening for Osteoporosis in 10,000 Postmenopausal Women1
Hip and Vertebral Fracture Outcomes by 5-year Age Intervals
| Variable |
Age Group |
| 50-54 y |
55-59 y |
60-64 y |
65-69 y |
70-74 y |
75-79 y |
| Base Case Assumptions2 |
Prevalence of osteoporosis |
0.0305 |
0.0445 |
0.065 |
0.120 |
0.2025 |
0.285 |
| Relative risk for hip fracture with treatment |
0.63 |
0.63 |
0.63 |
0.63 |
0.63 |
0.63 |
| Relative risk for vertebral fracture with treatment |
0.52 |
0.52 |
0.52 |
0.52 |
0.52 |
0.52 |
| Adherence to treatment |
0.7 |
0.7 |
0.7 |
0.7 |
0.7 |
0.7 |
| Results |
Identified as high-risk (osteoporotic) |
305 |
445 |
650 |
1,200 |
2,025 |
2,850 |
| Hip fractures prevented |
1 |
2 |
5 |
14 |
39 |
70 |
| NNS to prevent 1 hip fracture |
7,446 |
4,338 |
1,856 |
731 |
254 |
143 |
| NNT to prevent 1 hip fracture |
227 |
193 |
121 |
88 |
51 |
41 |
| Vertebral fractures prevented |
5 |
7 |
22 |
40 |
95 |
134 |
| NNS to prevent 1 vertebral fracture |
1,952 |
1,338 |
458 |
248 |
105 |
75 |
| NNT to prevent 1 vertebral fracture |
60 |
60 |
30 |
30 |
21 |
21 |
1NNS = number needed to screen for benefit; NNT = number needed to treat.
2Estimates for assumptions include age-specific prevalence rates for osteoporosis and probabilities of fractures; relative risk of 0.63 for hip fractures and 0.52 for vertebral fractures with treatment; treatment adherence of 0.7 (see text).
Formulas for calculations are described in Appendix Table 2.
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