Osteoporosis prevention counseling during health maintenance examinations

OBJECTIVE Our goal was to determine how often primary care providers discus sed osteoporosis prevention and calcium intake with women during their heal th maintenance examinations. METHODS A total of 449 women aged 18 to 65 years participated in exit inter views immediately following a health maintenance examination at 1 of 8 Wisc onsin family practice clinics. RESULTS Forty-six percent of these women reported discussing osteoporosis w ith their providers during their visit, and 51% reported discussing calcium intake, A total of 61% reported discussing either osteoporosis or calcium intake during the visit. Some providers were able to discuss these topics w ith more than 90% of their patients. A logistic regression model showed tha t providers mere less likely to discuss either of these issues with women y ounger than 40 years (P=.019); they were more likely to discuss them with w omen older than 60 years (P=.002) than with women aged 40 to 60 years; and women providers were significantly more likely to discuss either issue (P=. 004). CONCLUSIONS Primary care providers are in a good position to counsel women of all ages about their potential for avoiding osteoporosis and to recommen d prevention strategies, The United States Preventive Services Task Force r ecommends that all women be counseled on adequate calcium intake yearly aft er the age of 18 years. Provider education and institutional changes may in crease the frequency of this counseling for all primary care physicians.