Putting a brake on fractures in the world’s most populous & fastest ageing region

(ACN Newswire) – An osteoporotic fracture occurs every three seconds worldwide.(1)

More than 50 per cent of the world’s hip fractures are expected to occur in the Asia Pacific over the next two decades.(2) This is due to the region’s rapidly ageing population, mounting urbanisation, and subsequent increase in sedentary lifestyles.(2)

In an effort to stem this health crisis, the Asia Pacific Consortium on Osteoporosis (APCO) will launch a Bone Health QI Tool Kit for healthcare professionals tomorrow, Tuesday, May 24, 2022, to promote quality improvement of osteoporosis care.

This world-first tool kit, encompassing multiple components in the screening, diagnosis, and management of osteoporosis, will help to promote multi-sector healthcare professional engagement and cooperation, to address this looming healthcare catastrophe.

• Osteoporosis – the most common disease – is characterised by porous and brittle bones, whose density and quality are poor, resulting in structural skeletal deterioration.¹
• The disease is greatly under-diagnosed, and under-treated in Asia, even among those at highest risk who have already fractured.³
• The Asia Pacific is home to 4.5 billion people and vastly different healthcare systems.⁴
• Over the next two decades, a staggering 319 million people aged 50+ from the Asia Pacific are projected to be at high risk of osteoporotic fracture.⁵
• Moreover, the number of hip fractures are projected to more than double in Asia, from 1.13 million in 2018,
  to 2.54 million in 2050.⁵

References

1. International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF). Capture the fracture. [Oct, 2021]; Available from: https://www.capturethefracture.org/about.
2. Chandran M, et al., Development of the Asia Pacific Consortium on Osteoporosis (APCO) Framework: clinical standards of care for the screening, diagnosis, and management of osteoporosis in the Asia-Pacific region.Osteoporos Int., 2021. 32(7): p. 1249-1275.
3. International Osteoporosis Foundation. Key statistics for Asia. [cited October 2022]; Available from: https://www.osteoporosis.foundation/facts-statistics/key-statistic-for-asia.
4. Odén, A., et al., Burden of high fracture probability worldwide: secular increases 2010-2040. Osteoporos Int, 2015.26(9): p. 2243-8.
5. Cheung, C.-L., et al., An updated hip fracture projection in Asia: The Asian Federation of Osteoporosis Societies study.Osteoporosis and sarcopenia, 2018. 4(1): 16-21.