Evidence map›Paper›PMID 18697977›Full record

ArticleCanadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien2008

Osteoporosis screening for men: are family physicians following the guidelines?

Natalie Cheng, Michael E Green

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
22citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
1.7field-weighted citation impact, top 16% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

22 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Recommendations on screening for primary prevention of fragility fractures.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2023
    Guideline
  2. Complex interventions can increase osteoporosis investigations and treatment: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2018
    Pooled it
  3. Trial
  4. Article
  5. Bone health post-stroke: a survey of stroke care physiatrists in Canada.Journal of rehabilitation medicine. Clinical communications · 2025
    Article
  6. Article
  7. CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2023
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Observational
  11. Osteoporosis prevention: where are the barriers to improvement in a French general population? A qualitative study.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2019
    Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Men's health-seeking behaviours regarding bone health after a fragility fracture: a secondary analysis of qualitative data.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2016
    Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Patterns of treatment in Australian men following fracture.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2011
    Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Natalie ChengEnhanced Rural Skills, Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Michael E Green
Queen's University · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo determine rates of screening for osteoporosis among men older than 65 years and to find out whether family physicians are following the recommendations of the Osteoporosis Society of Canada's 2002 Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Osteoporosis in Canada.

designChart audit.

settingThe Family Medicine Centre at Hotel Dieu Hospital in Kingston, Ont.

participantsAll male patients at the Family Medicine Centre older than 65 years for a total of 565 patients associated with 20 different physicians' practices.

main outcome measuresRates of screening with bone mineral density (BMD) scans for osteoporosis, results of BMD testing, and associations between results of BMD testing and age.

resultsOf the 565 patients reviewed, 108 (19.1% of the study population) had received BMD testing. Rates of screening ranged from 0% to 38% in the 20 practices. Among 105 patients tested (reports for 3 patients were not retrievable), 15 (14.3%) were found to have osteoporosis, 43 (41.0%) to have osteopenia, and 47 (44.8%) to have normal BMD results. No significant association was found between BMD results and age. Screening rates were higher among men older than 75 years than among men aged 65 to 75 and peaked among those 85 to 89 years old.

conclusionOn average, only about 20% of male patients older than 65 years had been screened for osteoporosis, so most of these men were not being screened by BMD testing as recommended in the guidelines. Considering the relatively high rates of osteoporosis and osteopenia found in this study and the known morbidity and mortality associated with osteoporotic fractures in this population, higher rates of BMD screening and more widespread treatment of osteoporosis could prevent many fractures among these patients. Family physicians need to become more aware of the risk factors indicating screening, and barriers to screening and treatment of osteoporosis in men need to be identified and addressed.

Indexed as

Practice Guidelines as TopicAbsorptiometry, PhotonAcademic Medical CentersAgedAged, 80 and overAge DistributionAttitude of Health PersonnelBone DensityCross-Sectional StudiesFamily PracticeGuideline AdherenceHumansIncidenceMaleMass ScreeningOntario

Identifiers

PMID18697977
PMCPMC2515229
OpenAlexW2169310878

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.