Sociodemographic Differences in the Epidemiology and Management of Osteoporosis-Related Vertebral Fractures

This review synthesizes the recently published scientific evidence on sociodemographic (age-, sex-, race/ethnicity-, or income/insurance-based) differences in epidemiology and management of osteoporosis-related vertebral fractures.

We identified 23 studies that investigated and reported on the presence of age-, sex-, race/ethnicity-, insurance, and income-based differences in the epidemiology and management of osteoporosis-related vertebral fractures. These fractures are generally more common in older adults and less common in Black adults compared to White adults. Vertebral augmentation is sometimes used in the treatment of osteoporosis-related vertebral fractures and has been shown to be less common in racial and ethnic minorities. Reported sociodemographic differences in the epidemiology and management of osteoporosis-related vertebral fractures are not consistent across studies. However, comparatively few studies have investigated causes of these differences, which are important for determining whether the differences represent true disparities in care, and consequently inform interventions that could reduce those disparities. Age-, sex-, race/ethnicity- insurance, and income-based differences in the epidemiology and management of osteoporosis-related vertebral fractures exist. Further work is needed to understand the underlying causes of these differences so that interventions can be developed to address them.