ArticleBMC musculoskeletal disorders2025
A reflexive thematic analysis of existential losses in men with osteoporosis: "I'm not the person I was somehow … although I am".
Article in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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.
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.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Living with osteoporosis: a qualitative descriptive study.Archives of osteoporosis · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundOsteoporosis is a global health concern that is likely to increase with a rapidly ageing world population. It affects one in three women and one in five men over the age of 50. Although there is a large body of qualitative research exploring the experience of living with osteoporosis, far fewer studies have focused on men. We aimed to explore the experiences of men with osteoporotic vertebral fracture.
methodsWe interviewed 13 White British men aged 63 to 94 with an osteoporotic vertebral fracture. We used the six stages of reflexive thematic analysis: familiarisation with the data; coding; generating initial themes; developing and reviewing themes through discussion; refining and naming themes; writing up.
resultsWe developed six themes giving insight into the existential losses of men with osteoporosis: I have felt a step change coming; I regret that I am no longer the person I once was; it is demeaning (but others are worse off than me); I need to know where I am heading; I need to understand why me; I need to feel like I am in someone's hands. We describe moral narratives used in defence of self.
conclusionsOur findings highlight the challenge of deciphering the symptoms of osteoporosis and age-related changes. We also see the impact on self and a struggle to repair self. Healthcare providers are in a unique and privileged position to accompany their patients at points of existential crisis. As such, they attend to the repair of both identity and body. This comes with an ethical responsibility and has implications for clinical education. Health professionals should feel equipped to be alongside people facing existential losses. Qualitative research can give valuable insight into the phenomenology of illness and contribute to improvements in care pathways.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.