Osteoporosis poses a significant public health issue. National Societies have developed Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of this disorder with an effort of adapting specific tools for risk assessment on the peculiar characteristics of a given population. The Italian Society for Osteoporosis, Mineral Metabolism and Bone Diseases (SIOMMMS) has recently revised the previously published Guidelines on the diagnosis, riskassessment, prevention and management of primary and secondary osteoporosis. The guidelines were first drafted by a working group and then approved by the board of SIOMMMS. Subsequently they received also the endorsement of other major Scientific Societies that deal with bone metabolic disease. These recommendations are based on systematic reviews of the best available evidence and explicit consideration of cost effectiveness. When minimal evidence is available, recommendations are based on leading experts’ experience and opinion, and on good clinical practice. The osteoporosis prevention should be based on the elimination of specific risk factors. The use of drugs registered for the treatment of osteoporosis are recommended when the benefits overcome the risk, and this is the case only when the risk of fracture is rather high as measured with variables susceptible to pharmacological effect. DeFRA (FRAX® derived fracture risk assessment) is recognized as a useful tool for easily estimate the long-term fracture risk. Several secondary forms of osteoporosis require a specific diagnostic and therapeutic management.

Context: An increased risk of fracture in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) compared to the general population has been reported, but available data are controversial. Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the rate of vertebral fractures (VFs) by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry in postmenopausal women with sporadic PHPT and compare the results with a control group. Design and Setting: A case-control study was performed at a referral center. Participants: A total of 150 consecutive patients and 300 healthy women matched for age and menopausal age participated in the study. Results: VFs were detected in 37 of 150 (24.6%) patients and 12 of 300 (4.0%) controls (P < 0.0001). The majority of VFs were mild. Stepwise multiple logistic regression analysis showed that in PHPT patients lumbar spine bone mineral density was the only variable independently associated with the prevalence of VFs (P = 0.003). The rate of fracture was higher in symptomatic (34.1%) than asymptomatic (21.1%) patients, but this difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.15). Among asymptomatic patients, fracture rate was significantly higher in those who met the criteria for parathyroidectomy (28.1%) than in those who did not (11.1%) (P = 0.03). Compared to controls, the fracture rate was significantly higher in patients with symptomatic and asymptomatic PHPT who met the criteria for surgery (P < 0.0001), but not in those who did not meet the criteria (P = 0.06). Conclusions: VF rate is increased in postmenopausal women with PHPT compared to controls, independently of whether they are classified as symptomatic or asymptomatic. The question of whether the finding of mild morphometric VFs in the latter represents an indication for parathyroid surgery remains to be established.

Context: The fourth International Workshop on the Management of Asymptomatic Primary Hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) has recently suggested that skeletal and renal imaging be routinely conducted. So far, no study has systematically assessed this issue. Objective: The objective was to evaluate the prevalence of kidney stones (KS) and vertebral fractures (VFs) in a cohort of patients with PHPT utilizing noninvasive imaging technology. Design: This was a prospective study evaluating patients consecutively diagnosed with PHPT in a single center over a 5-year period (2009–2013). Setting: The setting was a referral center. Patients: There were a total of 140 patients with PHPT (127 women [18 premenopausal and 109 postmenopausal] and 13 men; mean age, 63.2 ± 11 y). Main Outcomes Measures: Main outcome measures were the prevalence of KS by abdominal ultrasound, osteoporosis by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) (lumbar spine, femoral neck, total hip, and distal 1/3 radius), and VFs by vertebral spine x-ray, with attention to those categorized as symptomatic or asymptomatic. Results: Fifty-five percent of all subjects had KS by ultrasound, 62.9% had osteoporosis by T-score at any site, and 35.1% had VFs by x-ray. There was no difference in the incidence of VFs and densitometric osteoporosis between symptomatic and asymptomatic patients (VFs, 34.4 vs 34.7%; osteoporosis by DXA, 59.4 vs 65.8%), whereas more KS were detected in symptomatic (78%) than asymptomatic (35.5%). Twenty-two percent of patients classified as asymptomatic at baseline without osteoporosis by DXA were found to have KS and/or VFs. Conclusions: Nephrolithiasis and VFs are common in asymptomatic subjects with PHPT. The results provide evidence in support of recent recommendations that a more proactive approach be taken to detect silent bone and stone disease in asymptomatic PHPT.

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of vertebral (vFr) and non-vertebral (nvFr) fractures in postmenopausal women with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). Materials and Methods: We studied 98 patients with PHPT, divided into ‘mild’ (M, n = 25) and ‘non-mild’ (NM, n = 73) sub-groups, according to recently published guidelines (2002), and 89 healthy women (C) matched for age, years since menopause and body mass index. vFr was evaluated according to a visual semiquantitative method; bone mineral density (BMD) at the lumbar spine (LS), and femoral sites (femoral neck, FN and total femur, FT) was measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Volumetric BMD of the third lumbar vertebra (vBMDL3) was also calculated. Results: The prevalence of vFr was significantly higher (P < 0.001) in both M and NM PHPT patients compared with C; this prevalence did not differ between M and NM patients. BMD was significantly lower (P < 0.05) in NM patients compared with both C and M patients. BMD at LS in M patients was also significantly higher with respect to C. Similar results were also obtained for vBMDL3; in M patients, vBMDL3 was also significantly higher compared to C. When M and NM patients were subdivided according to the presence or lack of vFr, no difference was found between fractured and unfractured patients for either BMD or vBMDL3 values. Conclusions: The risk of vFr is higher in postmenopausal patients with mild PHPT even if BMD appears well preserved. This finding suggests that other factors, such as bone quality, seem to be relevant in determining fracture risk, especially when gonadal function is lacking.