Management of Postmenopausal Osteoporosis by Moroccan General Practitioners: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Abstract

Background: Despite the existence of effective treatments and prescribed therapeutic protocols, there is a lack of management of osteoporosis, resulting in increased secondary morbidity and mortality. The general practitioner (GP) is the first-line practitioner for the detection and man-agement of osteoporosis. Objective: This study was conducted to explore the practices, knowledge, and difficulties in post-menopausal osteoporosis management reported by GPs. Methods: An anonymous questionnaire (19 questions) was created via Google Forms and distribut-ed to 300 GPs via social networks (WhatsApp, Facebook, and Gmail). The survey results were au-tomatically calculated on “Google Forms” and checked using SPSS.20 software. Results: A total of 129 responses were received, representing a response rate of 43%. The majority of respondents were women (67.2%). The definition of osteoporosis was variable, with 51.6% de-fining it as a T-score of ≤-2.5 SD, 25.8% defining it as diffuse bone demineralization, and 12.1% defining it as a fracture after falling with low energy. Prolonged corticosteroid therapy was the most commonly indicated reason for measuring bone mineral density (BMD) (81.39%). The calcium phosphate balance was the most requested (90.1%). Vitamin D and calcium supplementation were reported by 74.41% and 54.26% of GPs, respectively. Fracture of the upper end of the femur was the main therapeutic indication (65.11%). Most GPs surveyed (73.3%) were unfamiliar with the fracture risk assessment tool (FRAX). Most of the GPs gave advice on fall prevention to their pa-tients (83.72%), and 62.5% of GPs monitored their patients' height. Anti-osteoporosis treatment was maintained for 3 to 5 years by 44.96% of GPs. Conclusion: Our survey found that the practices and knowledge of GPs on osteoporosis vary wide-ly and often deviate from the recommended standards. This highlights the need for more excellent education of GPs, due to their vital role in the management of osteoporosis.