Study over 26 years hints at decline in osteoporosis
An Irish study that spanned over 25 years has found a decline in osteoporosis among people undergoing their first bone-density assessment.
The first DEXA (bone-density) scan took place at University Hospital Limerick and St Camillus Hospital in January 1998, and continued until December 2024.
More than 66,000 patients across the country were analysed, and researchers found that osteoporosis at the hip fell from 19 per cent to 7 per cent in 2024. Osteoporosis at the lumbar spine fell from 30 per cent to 8 per cent.
The HSE say that these findings now raise a possibility that future generations may face less of a burden of bone disease than what was previously expected.
Dr Azrin Muslim, Research Director at St Camillus Hospital in Limerick, said: “The results do not mean osteoporosis has ceased to be a significant health problem, nor do they show that fractures will necessarily decline at the same rate. Hip-fracture risk, for example, is influenced not only by bone strength but also by falls and other clinical factors. While further research will be needed to establish whether similar trends are occurring nationally and internationally - and whether improvements in bone density translate into lower fracture rates - the scale and duration of the Irish dataset provide evidence that the health profile associated with older age may itself be changing.
“For policymakers, that could mean future healthcare planning needs to consider not just how many people will live into old age, but how healthy those people are likely to be when they get there.”
Professor Declan Lyons, one of the study’s authors and HSE Director of Research in Limerick, added: “This study has significant implications for our understanding of current ageing patterns and challenges our current understanding of the diseases that will afflict us in later life. Osteoporosis and fractures of the hips and spine may not be as big a part of the future mix as we thought. The paper also reminds us that while growing old is inevitable, ageing isn’t and can be managed”
“The findings also raise a broader question about projections of ill health in an ageing population. Forecasts based primarily on historical rates of age-related disease can assume that a person reaching 70, 80 or 90 in the future will have broadly the same underlying risk as somebody of that age in previous generations. This data suggests that assumption may not always hold true.”
The researcher found a number of developments over the last two decades that may be relevant to changing bone health. But also can include greater awareness of the condition, while putting an increasing emphasis on fracture prevention.