Anti-osteoporosis medication dispensing by clinical commissioning groups in England - an ecological study of variability in practice and of the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Purpose: To investigate whether the rate of Anti-Osteoporosis Medication (AOM) dispensing was related to prevalence of risk factors and hip fracture incidence in the local population.

Methods: The Open Prescribing database was used to analyse dispensed AOM at the level of Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) in England. Male Healthy Life Expectancy (MHLE), Female Healthy Life Expectancy (FHLE), the prevalence of smoking and active adults, the incidence of hip fracture and of alcohol related hospital admissions, and local dispensing of a comparator drug (atorvastatin) were considered as predictor variables.

The Latest Evidence from Vitamin D Intervention Trials for Skeletal and Non-skeletal Outcomes.

Vitamin D has long been considered a central part of the treatment paradigm for osteoporosis. Initial studies in high-risk populations with widespread vitamin D deficiency found a reduction of both vertebral and non-vertebral fractures. Subsequent studies in the general population have yielded mixed but mostly disappointing results both for skeletal and especially non-skeletal outcomes.