A research letter has just been published online in ‘Blood’, titled ‘Myeloproliferative neoplasm subtypes have distinct impact on risk of incident osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures’.
Its authors, who are based in the US, undertook their study on US patient data and so their comments relate to US patients and the US health system.
They concluded:
“Compared to the general healthy population, we observed a near 20% increased hazard of OP (osteoporosis) /OF (osteoporotic fractures) among patients with PV, ET, and MPN-U (MPN unclassified). Currently, the US Preventative Services Task Force recommends a DEXA screening for women aged 65 years and over, and for younger women at increased risk of fractures. However, studies of Medicare beneficiaries have reported screening adherence as low as 30%, especially among women aged 75 years and over who represent a large proportion of our cohort. Underuse of screening likely underestimates the true incidence of OP/OFs in MPNs; efforts to improve adherence to guideline-concordant practices may be cost- and life-saving for our older patients with MPNs. Finally, prospective studies are needed to evaluate the effect of early therapeutic intervention with JAK inhibitors or interferons on both MPN symptoms and risk of OP/OFs.”
The research letter is free to access and is available HERE.
How to improve your bone health?
The above research letter reminds us of the importance of MPN patients also looking after their bone health.
We have identified an article from Australia’s ABC How to boost bone health and reduce risk of osteoporosis and fractures, that provides some evidence based guidance on how you can improve your bone health.
