Osteoporosis – primary prevention

Whether or not a postmenopausal woman with osteoporosis is offered one of these drugs:  Alendronate,

etidronate, risedronate, raloxifene and strontium ranelate, to prevent bone fractures will depend on her age, her bone density and how many risk factors for fracture and

indicators of fragile bones she has.

In principle, alendronate is recommended as a possible treatment for preventing bone fractures in postmenopausal women who have had osteoporosis diagnosed but have not had a fracture.

If a woman can’t take alendronate, risedronate and etidronate are recommended under certain circumstances as possible alternative treatments to prevent fractures.

If a woman can’t take alendronate or either risedronate or etidronate, then strontium ranelate is recommended under certain circumstances as a possible alternative treatment to prevent fractures.

Raloxifene is not recommended as a treatment for preventing fractures in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis who have not had a fracture.

The guidance from NICE (National institute for health and clinical excellence/UK) says that women who are 75 or over may not need a bone scan to diagnose their osteoporosis (guidance issued in November 2008).