Glucocorticoid-Induced Osteoporosis: Management Challenges in Older Patients

Glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis remains the most common type of secondary osteoporosis, mostly due to use of oral glucocorticoids rather than due to endogenous overproduction of cortisol. Partly because glucocorticoids are prescribed by a wide variety of clinicians for many different inflammatory disorders, only a minority of older individuals have adequate and timely assessment of their enhanced fracture risk, and fewer are offered treatment. Assessment should include bone density, the FRAX calculation, and, in many cases, images of the spine. Glucocorticoids decrease osteoblast function and increase apoptosis of osteoblasts and osteocytes, leading to increased fracture risk soon after starting glucocorticoids. Guidelines provide evidence-based recommendations for evaluation and treatment, but there are differences in extant guidelines, and methods to improve adherence to the guidelines have mostly failed. A strong case can be made to use anabolic drugs first in high-risk patients based on pathophysiology and head-to-head clinical trials.