Osteoporosis Treatment Adherence in Mexican Women

This study included 82 postmenopausal Mexican mestizo women with primary osteoporosis. Patient recruitment was from January 2017 to July 2019. These patients were referred by an osteoporosis clinic at a civic hospital (Antiguo Hospital Fray Antonio Alcalde) in Guadalajara, Mexico. The inclusion criteria for participants were as follows: (1) had a diagnosis of osteoporosis according to the clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis and management of osteoporosis [20 (link)]; (2) aged 50 years or older; (3) included in the cohort at the time when they received alendronate (70 mg administered orally once per week) for one year (according to the clinical guidelines for pharmacological treatment of the National Osteoporosis Foundation, USA); (4) received calcium and vitamin D supplementation therapy; (5) had a clinical chart available at the hospital. The exclusion criteria were patients receiving parathyroid hormone therapy, selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs), glucocorticoids or biologic therapy, or presenting a secondary comorbidity associated with low BMD (such as thyroid disease or chronic renal failure) or the presence of alcoholism. Only one patient with osteoporosis per family was allowed.
Study development: All the subjects underwent a physical examination and completed a detailed questionnaire on family and medical histories, as well as on lifestyle habits. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated as weight (kg) divided by height squared (m²). Treatment adherence was determined using the questionnaire validation of the Adherence Evaluation of Osteoporosis (ADEOS) treatment for osteoporotic postmenopausal women [21 (link)]. All patients included in the study showed adequate adherence to the treatment.