An Evaluation of the Implementation of the European Calcified Tissue Society Recommendations on the Prevention and Treatment of Osteoporosis Secondary to Bariatric Surgery

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the implementation of the European Calcified Tissue Society (ECTS) 2022 recommendations on the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis secondary to bariatric surgery. The ECTS 2022 recommendations were applied in a retrospective cohort of postmenopausal women and men aged 50 years and older who were undergoing or had already undergone bariatric surgery. Osteoporosis medication was indicated if any of the following criteria were met: (i) history of recent (within 2 years) fragility fracture after the age of 40 years, (ii) BMD T score <= -2 at any of the sites of measurement, and (iii) FRAX((R)) >= 20% for major osteoporotic fractures and/or >= 3% for hip fractures. Of the 170 patients (144 women, mean age 59 (55 to 63) years) included between February 2019 and March 2022, 33 were eligible for osteoporosis medication based on the ECTS 2022 recommendations, i.e., a prevalence of 19.6% [CI95%: 13.9%; 26.5%]. Most patients met the BMD T score <= -2 criterion (n = 25/170, 14.7% [CI95%: 9.7%; 20.9%]) and/or the history of recent fragility fracture criterion (n = 12/170, 7.1% [CI95%: 3.7%; 12.0%]). In this study, a fifth of our population was found to be eligible for osteoporosis medication after the application of the ECTS 2022 recommendations.

Automated summary

The study aimed to evaluate the implementation of the ECTS 2022 recommendations for preventing and treating osteoporosis after bariatric surgery. A retrospective cohort study was conducted on postmenopausal women and men aged 50 and older who had undergone or were undergoing bariatric surgery. Osteoporosis medication was indicated if certain criteria were met, and a fifth of the population surveyed was found to be eligible.