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Ten years after the publication of the first audit report on osteoporosis for the Latin American region in 2012, the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) regional office for Latin America has published the updated report LATAM Audit 2021: epidemiology, cost and impact of osteoporosis and fragility fractures in Latin America.

The need to review and update the burden of osteoporosis in the region is based on the changes and advances that both osteoporosis and fragility fractures have experienced over the last decade, namely the development and availability of new drugs and diagnostic tools, and the publication of national clinical guidelines for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis in several countries in the region, among others. 

The LATAM Audit 2021 collects data from 19* of the 20 countries in Latin America, representing 98.2% of the total population. Around 23% of the total population of the participating countries is 50 years of age or older, with Cuba (38.6%), Uruguay (31.5%) and Chile (29.7%) showing the greatest increase in the population in this age range for the period 2010-2020. In addition, the entire region shows a significant increase in life expectancy, with an average of 75.8 years, the highest in Costa Rica and Chile (81 years on average) and the lowest in Bolivia and Venezuela (72 years).

This progressive ageing of the population makes osteoporosis and fragility fractures a challenge for health systems. It is estimated that approximately 20-24% of hip fracture patients die in the first year after fracture; while the loss of function and mobility among survivors is considerable, with around 33% being totally dependent at one year post-fracture.

The 2021 edition of the LATAM AUDIT report: Epidemiology, Cost and Impact of Osteoporosis and Fragility Fractures, presents updated information on the demographics of participating countries, including projections to 2050 of their population pyramids; the frequency of fragility fractures in men and women over 50 in the period 2015-2019; the direct costs of fragility fractures; the infrastructure related to fragility fracture care; and the health policies implemented in the management of osteoporosis by participating countries.

Mónica Caló, IOF Regional Manager for Latin America, states: "The LATAM Audit 2021 report provides an updated mapping of osteoporosis and fragility fracture care in Latin America. The findings allow us to quantify the burden of this disease, as well as to more fully understand the barriers and opportunities that will need to be addressed across the region. Our aim is that this report serves as a reference platform for the structuring of policies for the prevention and therapeutic intervention of osteoporosis and its most dramatic consequence, fragility fractures." 

According to the information gathered, there are significant gaps in osteoporosis care in several countries in the region. For example, there is great inequity in the distribution of diagnostic and therapeutic resources between urban and rural regions. Only five of the 19 participating countries were able to provide data on the number and costs of fragility fractures (Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Perú and Mexico). As well, only five countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico) reported implementation of post-fracture care programs such as Fracture Liaison Services (FLS) models in their hospitals. 

Dr. Patricia Clark, a co-author of the report notes: "Even though the LATAM Audit 2021 demonstrates an increase in the availability of diagnostic tools and pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment alternatives in all participating countries, there is still a lack of access to national epidemiological data. The main challenge for the future will be to improve the quality of local, state and national databases to enable informed decisions regarding the clinical approach and management of patients with osteoporosis and at risk of fragility fractures."

Undoubtedly, the lack of data is a constraint to driving meaningful policy change at the national level and agreeing on a common agenda. It is also a missed opportunity to identify and treat patients at increased risk of subsequent fractures.

Professor Cyrus Cooper, IOF President, concludes: "The projections included in this new edition allow us to gauge the size of the challenge that osteoporosis and fragility fractures will represent, in the near future, for public and private healthcare systems in the region. As a leading global organization, it is our goal to join forces and work together to promote osteoporosis as a public health priority, to increase education and research, to optimize the availability of diagnostic and therapeutic resources, and to improve secondary fracture prevention through models such as Fracture Liaison Services. Let us together take decisive action to address the barriers and challenges revealed in this report, to build on the achievements made to date, and to consign osteoporosis to history.”

The launch of the LATAM Audit 2021 will be made official at a Meet-The-Expert Online session to be held on Thursday, August 11 at 8pm (Buenos Aires time) with simultaneous translation into Portuguese. ->  REGISTRATION

Download the full report in Spanish 
Soon available in English and Portuguese

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Notes
*Based on the classification established by CEPAL. Countries included in the study: Argentina, Plurinational State of Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), Dominican Republic and Uruguay.

References
•    International Osteoporosis Foundation (2012). LATAM Audit: epidemiology, cost and impact of osteoporosis in Latin America
https://www.osteoporosis.foundation/sites/iofbonehealth/files/2019-06/2…;
•    International Osteoporosis Foundation (2022). LATAM Audit 2021: epidemiology, cost and impact of osteoporosis and fragility fractures in Latin America
https://www.osteoporosis.foundation/sites/iofbonehealth/files/2022-08/LATAM%20Audit%202021%20-%20FINAL.pdf
•    Don't let osteoporosis break your future [Infographic] International Osteoporosis Foundation. Retrieved from: https://www.osteoporosis.foundation/sites/iofbonehealth/files/2019-06/2… [4/08/2022].

About IOF
The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) is the world's largest nongovernmental organization dedicated to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of osteoporosis and related musculoskeletal diseases. IOF members, including committees of scientific researchers as well as more than 300 patient, medical and research organizations, work together to make fracture prevention and healthy mobility a worldwide heath care priority. https://www.osteoporosis.foundation @iofbonehealth @iofsaludosea