Every three seconds, a bone breaks due to osteoporosis somewhere in the world.1 Osteoporosis is a bone disease that occurs when the body loses too much bone, makes too little bone or both.2 As a result, osteoporosis causes low bone mass and deterioration of bone3 in patients, and changes in the balance between degradation and build-up of bone tissue leads to the bone becoming increasingly fragile, raising the risk of fractures.
An osteoporosis-related fracture can be life-altering4. After an initial bone break, approximately 80% of patients remain undiagnosed and untreated.5 One way to help ensure that more people are diagnosed and treated for the disease following a fracture is to implement more outpatient post-fracture care coordination programs around the world.6,7 These programs are designed to help people who have experienced a fracture due to osteoporosis receive the appropriate information and care to help prevent future fractures before they occur.
Osteoporosis causes more than 8.9 million fractures annually worldwide8 mostly in post-menopausal women. As Malaysia’s population ages, incidence of the disease is growing9.
As a leader in osteoporosis, Amgen is working with hospitals in Asia Pacific to establish Fracture Liaison Services (FLS) to improve the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis. In Malaysia, the first Fracture Liaison Service was launched in 2017 at Beacon Specialist Hospital, and subsequently in 2018 at Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (PPUKM), followed by Pusat Perubatan Universiti Malaya in 2020. Since its opening, it has seen a marked improvement in diagnosis and management of these patients. Both FLS initiatives in Beacon Hospital and PPUKM have been awarded a Silver award from the International Osteoporosis Foundation.