Osteoporosis and high-risk osteopenia (high-risk of osteoporotic fractures) are highly prevalent in South Korean postmenopausal women and men aged 50 years and over.
Introduction: This study determined the percentages of the population at high risk of osteoporotic fractures according to the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria and the Fracture Risk Assessment (FRAX) model.
Methods: Data collected from the 2010 Fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a cross-sectional survey of the general South Korean general population, were analyzed. The percentages of the population with high-risk osteopenia according to the US National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) and Japanese treatment guidelines were subsequently determined and compared.
Results: Based on the WHO criteria and FRAX model, 37.7% of the menopausal women and 12.7% of the men aged 50 years and older are at high risk of osteoporotic fracture. According to the Japanese and NOF guidelines, 10.9 (10.6% of men and 11.2% of women) and 10.7% (10.6% of men and 10.9% of women), respectively, of the study population with osteopenia are at high risk of fracture. By age group, 49.3% of Korean women aged 55 years and older, 67.7% of Korean women aged 65 years and older, and 33.5% of Korean men aged 75 years and older are at high risk.
Conclusion: As a very large percentage of the South Korean postmenopausal population has osteoporosis or high-risk osteopenia, greater effort at identifying and treating this population should be expended to prevent osteoporotic fracture.