Osteoporosis in East Asia: Current issues in assessment and management

The greatest burden of hip fractures around the world is expected to occur in East Asia, especially China. However, there is a relative paucity of information on the epidemiology and burden of fractures in East Asia. Osteoporosis is greatly under-diagnosed and under-treated, even among the highest-risk subjects who have already suffered fractures. The accessibility to bone densitometry, the awareness of the disease by professionals and the public, and the use and reimbursement of drugs are some of the areas which need improvement especially. Cost-effective analysis on screening strategy and intervention thresholds based on local epidemiology data and economic status are available only in Japan. In addition, clinical risk factor models for the assessment of fracture probability may be ethnic specific. Further research is needed to develop a cost-effective risk assessment strategy to identify high-risk individuals for screening and treatment based on local data. Moreover, inadequate calcium and vitamin D intake is still an issue faced by this region.