Osteoporosis care skimpy for African Americans

Older African American women with arthritis and a high risk for fractures receive less Osteoporosis-related healthcare than their white counterparts, according to a new study.

"Our data suggest that African Americans with arthritis may not be receiving appropriate bone mineral density (BMD) testing even when it's warranted," said Dr. Ted R. Mikuls from University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha.

Mikuls and associates surveyed 988 African American and Caucasian women in six counties in Alabama to investigate potential racial disparities in Osteoporosis care.

All of the women had self-reported arthritis.

Osteoporosis Definition
Osteoporosis is a bone disorder. The bones become thinner, lose their strength and are more likely to break. People with osteoporosis have a higher risk of fractures. Their bones can fracture even during everyday movements, such as bending or coughing. Osteoporosis is not a form of arthritis, although it can cause fractures that lead to arthritis.

Among 251 women who had previously suffered a fracture, African Americans were less than half as likely to have received an X-ray test to measure bone density, or a prescription for osteoporosis medicine than were Caucasians, the team reports in the Journal of Rheumatology.

African American women were also less likely than Caucasians to have been given calcium and/or vitamin D supplements, the report indicates.

"We are currently examining determinants of low BMD in a group of African Americans with early Rheumatoid Arthritis," Mikuls said.

"We're trying to pinpoint genetic and environmental factors that might help clinicians select out African American arthritis patients who are in need of formal BMD testing," he explained. "

"This is particularly important," Mikuls concluded, "given the fact that African Americans have far worse fracture-related outcomes compared to Caucasians with fracture."

SOURCE Journal of Rheumatology, May 2005.