Publications by authors named "Hans P Dimai"

Background: Austria is among the countries with the highest incidence and prevalence of osteoporotic fractures worldwide. Guidelines for the prevention and management of osteoporosis were first published in 2010 under the auspices of the then Federation of Austrian Social Security Institutions and updated in 2017. The present comprehensively updated guidelines of the Austrian Society for Bone and Mineral Research are aimed at physicians of all specialties as well as decision makers and institutions in the Austrian healthcare system.

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  • * The authors advocate for keeping ethnic and race-specific FRAX models in the US, suggesting they should be based on updated data related to fracture and death risks.
  • * The position opposing fixed bone mineral density thresholds is supported by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) and the European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases (ESCEO), emphasizing the need for equity in fracture risk assessment.
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  • Current bone health assessments have critical gaps, prompting the development of a new multiplex label-free immunosensor for two key bone turnover markers, CTx and PINP.
  • This immunosensor allows for quick and easy testing using a finger prick blood sample, aiming for compatibility with point-of-care systems for automated use in patient settings.
  • The results from the testing showed the platform has high sensitivity and accuracy, providing results for bone health markers in just 15 minutes, without requiring skilled personnel or expensive equipment.
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One of the goals of the HORIZON 2020 project PoCOsteo was to develop a medical device, which would measure and/or quantify proteomic as well as genomic factors as present in whole blood samples collected through finger prick. After validating the tool in the clinical setting, the next step would be its clinical validation based on the existing guidelines. This article presents the protocol of a validation study to be carried out independently at two different centers (Division of Endocrinology and Diabetology at the Medical University of Graz as a clinic-based cohort, and the Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Institute at the Tehran University of Medical Sciences as a population-based cohort).

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  • Chronic heart failure (HFrEF) can lead to osteoporosis and vertebral fractures, increasing the risk of fractures and poor clinical outcomes.
  • In this study of 205 outpatients with HFrEF, 15% had osteoporosis and 14% had vertebral fractures, with 27% showing either condition.
  • Vertebral fractures were significantly linked to higher risks of cardiovascular death and worsening heart failure, while osteoporosis alone did not show a strong association with negative cardiovascular events.
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Osteoporosis is a skeletal disorder that causes impairment of bone structure and strength, leading to a progressively increased risk of fragility fractures. The global prevalence of osteoporosis is increasing in the ageing population. Owing to the chronic character of osteoporosis, years or even decades of preventive measures or therapy are required.

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Definition And Epidemiology: Chronic kidney disease (CKD): abnormalities of kidney structure or function, present for over 3 months. Staging of CKD is based on GFR and albuminuria (not graded). Osteoporosis: compromised bone strength (low bone mass, disturbance of microarchitecture) predisposing to fracture.

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Introduction: EQ-5D-3L preference-based value sets are predominately based on hypothetical health states and derived in cross-sectional settings. Therefore, we derived an experience-based value set from a prospective observational study.

Methods: The International Costs and Utilities Related to Osteoporotic fractures Study (ICUROS) was a multinational study on fragility fractures, prospectively collecting EQ-5D-3L and Time trade-off (TTO) within two weeks after fracture (including pre-fracture recall), and at 4, 12, and 18 months thereafter.

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Osteoporosis is a disease characterized by low bone mass and microarchitectural deterioration leading to increased bone fragility and fracture risk. Typically, osteoporotic fractures occur at the spine, hip, distal forearm, and proximal humerus, but other skeletal sites may be affected as well. One of the major challenges in the management of osteoporosis lies in the fact that although the operational diagnosis is based on bone mineral density (BMD) as measured by dual x-ray absorptiometry, the majority of fractures occur at nonosteoporotic BMD values.

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Unlabelled: The adoption of the management pathway proposed by the National Osteoporosis Guideline Group (NOGG), UK applied using the Austrian FRAX® tool in a referral population of Austrian women categorises 22-29% of women age 40 years or more eligible for treatment of whom 28-34% are classified at very high risk.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to provide a reference document for the further development of existing guidelines for the management of osteoporosis in Austria, considering FRAX-based intervention thresholds for high and very high fracture risk.

Methods: The model development was based on two Austrian hospital referral cohorts.

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Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disease characterized by low bone mass and microarchitectural deterioration of bone tissue, with a consequent increase in bone fragility and susceptibility to fracture. The average lifetime risk of a 50-year-old woman to suffer a fracture of the spine, hip, proximal humerus, or distal forearm has been estimated at close to 50%. In general, pharmacological treatment is recommended in patients who suffered a fragility fracture because their risk of suffering a subsequent fracture is increased dramatically.

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Background: The number of dialysis patients is steadily increasing. Associated comorbidities include impaired bone and mineral metabolism, termed chronic kidney disease-mineral and bone disorder (CKD-MBD), leading to a high fracture risk, increased morbidity and mortality and impaired quality of life. While the bone density is assessed with dual-energy X‑ray absorptiometry (DXA), the trabecular bone score (TBS) captures the image texture as a potential index of skeletal microarchitecture.

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Purpose: To investigate the time and effort needed to perform vertebral morphometry, as well as inter-observer agreement for identification of vertebral fractures on vertebral fracture assessment (VFA) images.

Methods: Ninety-six images were retrospectively selected, and three radiographers independently performed semi-automatic 6-point morphometry. Fractures were identified and graded using the Genant classification.

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Unlabelled: Nationwide hip fracture incidence in the Austrian population was assessed over a period of 30 years (1989-2018), including 20 years data from a previous study and a recent 10 years follow-up. While absolute numbers in men continued to increase, absolute numbers in women and age-standardized incidences in both men and women decreased.

Purpose: In the Austrian population ≥ 50 years, nationwide hip fracture incidences over a period of 20 years (1989-2008) have shown an initial steep increase, followed by a leveling-off during the last few years of observation.

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Chronic inflammation induces proinflammatory cytokine cascades. In addition to systemic inflammation, hypoxemia, hypercapnia, a catabolic metabolism, gonadal or thyroid dysfunction, musculoskeletal dysfunction and inactivity as well as vitamin D deficiency contribute to an increased risk of fragility fractures. Iatrogenic causes of osteoporosis are long-term use of inhaled or systemic glucocorticoids (GC).

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The need for a long-term pharmacological treatment of osteoporosis, the problem of potential compliance issues and also potentially severe side effects during the treatment are of central interest not only for patients but also for medical guidelines and prescribers. This review summarizes the current knowledge about the pharmacological substances used and the current scientifically based guidelines and approaches for the long-term use as well as the monitoring and potential treatment changes with a special focus on future developments.

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Introduction: The HORIZON 2020 project PoCOsteo aims (1) to develop a multidimensional fracture risk assessment tool which would take into account all factors known to be related to an individual's fracture risk. The fracture risk model is intended to be developed in two different populations, namely a European and a Middle Eastern one; (2) to develop a medical device, which would measure and/or quantify proteomic as well as genomic factors as present in whole blood samples collected through finger prick; (3) to test the clinical applicability and the validity of prototypes of the to be developed point of care device at both clinical centres.

Methods And Analysis: This article presents the protocol of this prospective cohort that will be carried out independently at two different centres (Division of Endocrinology and Diabetology at the Medical University of Graz (MUG) as a clinic-based cohort, and Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Institute (EMRI) at the Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) as a population-based cohort).

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Background: Sarcopenia, defined as loss of muscle mass, quality and function, is a part of the frailty syndrome. In critical illness, sarcopenia has rarely been evaluated regarding clinical outcomes. Therefore, we evaluated the association of sarcopenia with both hospital length of stay (HLOS) and 6‑month mortality in critically ill patients using abdominal computed tomography (CT) scans.

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Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to review the available approaches for bone strength assessment, osteoporosis diagnosis and fracture risk prediction, and to provide insights into radiofrequency echographic multi spectrometry (REMS), a non-ionizing axial skeleton technique.

Methods: A working group convened by the European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis met to review the current image-based methods for bone strength assessment and fracture risk estimation, and to discuss the clinical perspectives of REMS.

Results: Areal bone mineral density (BMD) measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is the consolidated indicator for osteoporosis diagnosis and fracture risk assessment.

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Aim: To examine the association of proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use with subsequent hip fracture incidence in hip fracture patients, accounting for gender, age, PPI doses, PPI initiation before or after first fracture, and year from first fracture in which the first subsequent fracture occurred.

Methods: Data from 31,668 Austrian patients ≥50 years with the first hip fracture between July 2008 and December 2010 were analyzed retrospectively. After exclusion of patients on anti-osteoporotic medication, incidence of subsequent hip fractures was compared between users and non-users of PPIs using regression models.

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Objective: To evaluate the clinical applicability of a software tool developed to extract bone textural information from conventional lumbar spine radiographs, and to test it in a subset of postmenopausal women treated for osteoporosis with the fully human monoclonal antibody denosumab.

Methods: The software was developed based on the principles of a fractal model using pixel grey-level variations together with a specific machine-learning algorithm. The obtained dimensionless parameter, termed bone structure value (BSV), was then tested and compared to bone mineral density (BMD) in a sub-cohort of postmenopausal women with osteoporosis who were treated with the monoclonal antibody denosumab, within the framework of a large randomized controlled trial and its open-label extension phase.

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Objectives: Calcaneal quantitative ultrasound (QUS) is a readily accessible and radiation-free alternative to dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) for assessing bone mineral density (BMD). Results obtained from QUS measurement cannot directly be compared to DXA, since these techniques capture different bone-specific parameters. To identify individuals who are likely to have osteoporosis by DXA, device-specific thresholds have to be defined for QUS.

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Background: Osteoporosis poses an immense burden to the society in terms of morbidity, mortality and financial cost. To reduce this burden, it is essential to accurately assess the individual patient's fracture risk and, where indicated, to initiate appropriate treatment that reduces fracture probability. Current screening and monitoring approaches include utilization of FRAX®, a web-based country-specific fracture risk assessment tool, and bone mineral density measurement by Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA).

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Introduction: The International Costs and Utilities Related to Osteoporotic fractures Study is a multinational observational study set up to describe the costs and quality of life (QoL) consequences of fragility fracture. This paper aims to estimate and compare QoL after hip, vertebral, and distal forearm fracture using time-trade-off (TTO), the EuroQol (EQ) Visual Analogue Scale (EQ-VAS), and the EQ-5D-3L valued using the hypothetical UK value set.

Methods: Data were collected at four time-points for five QoL point estimates: within 2 weeks after fracture (including pre-fracture recall), and at 4, 12, and 18 months after fracture.

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