Cost-effectiveness of Screening for Osteoporosis in Older Men With a History of Falls

Question Is it cost-effective to screen for osteoporosis in older men with a history of falls? Findings In this model-based economic evaluation of a hypothetical cohort of men aged 65 years, screening with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry followed by treatment for those diagnosed with osteoporosis had an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $33 169 per quality-adjusted life-year gained and was preferred over usual care at the willingness-to-pay threshold of $100 000 per quality-adjusted life-year gained. Meaning These findings suggest that, for older men who have fallen at least once in the past year, screening with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry followed by treatment for those diagnosed with osteoporosis is a cost-effective use of resources. Importance Falls and osteoporosis share the potential clinical end point of fractures among older patients. To date, few fall prevention guidelines incorporate screening for osteoporosis to reduce fall-related fractures. Objective To assess the cost-effectiveness of screening for osteoporosis using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) followed by osteoporosis treatment in older men with a history of falls. Design, Setting, and Participants In this economic evaluation, a Markov model was developed to simulate the incidence of major osteoporotic fractures in a hypothetical cohort of community-dwelling men aged 65 years who had fallen at least once in the past year. Data sources included literature published from January 1, 1946, to July 31, 2020. The model adopted a societal perspective, a lifetime horizon, a 1-year cycle length, and a discount rate of 3% per year for both health benefits and costs. The analysis was designed and conducted from October 1, 2019, to September 30, 2020. Interventions Screening with DXA followed by treatment for men diagnosed with osteoporosis compared with usual care. Main Outcomes and Measures Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER), measured by cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained. Results Among the hypothetical cohort of men aged 65 years, the screening strategy had an ICER of $33 169/QALY gained and was preferred over usual care at the willingness-to-pay threshold of $100 000/QALY gained. The number needed to screen to prevent 1 hip fracture was 1876; to prevent 1 major osteoporotic fracture, 746. The screening strategy would become more effective and less costly than usual care for men 77 years and older. The ICER for the screening strategy did not substantially change across a wide range of assumptions tested in all other deterministic sensitivity analyses. At a willingness-to-pay threshold of $50 000/QALY gained, screening was cost-effective in 56.0% of simulations; at $100 000/QALY gained, 90.8% of simulations; and at $200 000/QALY gained, 99.6% of simulations. Conclusions and Relevance These findings suggest that for older men who have fallen at least once in the past year, screening with DXA followed by treatment for those diagnosed with osteoporosis is a cost-effective use of resources. Fall history could be a useful cue to trigger assessment for osteoporosis in men. This economic evaluation assesses the cost-effectiveness of screening for osteoporosis using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry followed by osteoporosis treatment in a hypothetical sample of older men with a history of falls.