Vitamin D is the most used anti-osteoporosis medication in senior homes in Australia – June 2019

Anti-osteoporosis Medication Use in a High Fracture-Risk Population: Contemporary Trends in Australian Residential Aged Care Facilities.

Health Serv Insights. 2019 Jun 2;12:1178632919852111. doi: 10.1177/1178632919852111. eCollection 2019.

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20X increase in vitamin D sold and 36 percent decrease in osteoporosis business in Australia – Nov 2013

Overview Osteoporosis and vitamin D contains the following summary

• FACT: Bones need Calcium (this has been known for a very long time)
• FACT: Vitamin D improves Calcium bioavailability (3X ?)
• FACT: Should not take > 750 mg of Calcium if taking lots of vitamin D (Calcium becomes too bio-available)
• FACT: Adding vitamin D via Sun, UV, or supplements increased vitamin D in the blood
• FACT: Vitamin D supplements are very low cost
• FACT: Many trials, studies. reviews, and meta-analysis agree: adding vitamin D reduces osteoporosis
• FACT: Toxic level of vitamin D is about 4X higher than the amount needed to reduce osteoporosis
• FACT: Co-factors help build bones.
• FACT: Vitamin D Receptor can restrict Vitamin D from getting to many tissues, such as bones
• It appears that to TREAT Osteoporosis:
•        Calcium OR vitamin D is ok
•        Calcium + vitamin D is good
•        Calcium + vitamin D + other co-factors is great
•        Low-cost Vitamin D Receptor activators sometimes may be helpful
• CONCLUSION: To PREVENT many diseases, including Osteoporosis, as well as TREAT Osteoporosis
• Category Osteoporosis has 221 items
• Category Bone Health has 314 items

Note: Osteoporosis causes bones to become fragile and prone to fracture
  Osteoarthritis is a disease where damage occurs to the joints at the end of the bones

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Osteoporosis category includes the following

• 221 items in category - see also Overview Osteoporosis and vitamin D
• Overview Fractures and vitamin D
• Bone - Health 314 items
• VitaminDWiki pages with BONE MINERAL DENSITY or BMD in title 29+ pages
• Search VitaminDWiki for OSTEOPENIA 1740 items as of July 2020
• 13 articles are in both Osteroporosis and Vitamin D Receptor categories
• 10 articles are in both Osteroporosis and Meta-analysis categories
• 20X increase in vitamin D sold and 36 percent decrease in osteoporosis business in Australia – Nov 2013

> 60% for Vitamin D

< 40% for other medications

 Download the PDF from VitaminDWiki

Lind KE1, Jorgensen ML1, Gray LC2, Georgiou A1, Westbrook JI1.

• 1 Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
• 2 Centre for Health Services Research, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba, QLD, Australia.

Osteoporotic fractures impose substantial morbidity and mortality among older adults. Undertreatment is an ongoing concern; treatment rates declined following reports of adverse effects of guideline-recommended bisphosphonates, but new antiresorptives have since become available. Our goal was to identify contemporary trends in osteoporosis treatment guideline adherence in a high fracture-risk population.
We conducted a secondary data analysis using electronic health record data of adults aged ⩾65 years from 68 residential aged care facilities in Australia during 2014-2017 (n = 9094). Using medication administration data, we identified antiresorptive (bisphosphonates and denosumab) and vitamin D supplement use among residents with osteoporosis. Regression was used to evaluate temporal trends, and resident and facility characteristics associated with antiresorptive use and vitamin D use. In 2014, 34% of women and 42% of men with osteoporosis used antiresorptives; this decreased 8 percentage points by 2017. Antiresorptive use was higher among those with a history of fracture and lower in the last year of life. Denosumab use increased but did not substitute for the continued decline in bisphosphonate use.

Vitamin D was consistently used by more than 60% of residents and was higher among those with fracture history. Greater attention to the treatment of osteoporosis treatment rates among this high fracture-risk population is warranted.