Quality of Life in Patients with Osteoporotic Vertebral Fractures

Study Design: A case-control study. Purpose: To examine several dimensions of health-related quality of life (HRQL) in postmenopausal women with osteoporotic vertebral fractures, compared with a control group. Overview of Literature: Osteoporotic vertebral fractures are a major cause of morbidity among postmenopausal women. There have been many reports of a decrease in the quality of life in patients with osteoporotic vertebral fractures. However, few reports have analyzed which dimensions contribute to the decline in quality of life. Methods: One thousand five hundred forty-five postmenopausal women aged 50 years and older from 17 study sites in nationwide hospitals were in enrolled in the study (between April 2008 and January 2009). HRQL was measured using the European Quality of Life 5 Domains (EQ-5D), and visual analogue scale (VAS). Results: The average VAS of the case group was 57.80, and that of the control group was 64.10 (p = 0.001). All domains of the EQ-5D score were significantly worse in the case group (p = 0.001). Among the case group, the average VAS of the 559 patients (45%) who were operated on was 56.8, and that of the remaining 680 patients (55%) who were treated conservatively was 58.6 (p = 0.135). Among the case group, the averages of each EQ-5D domain of the 559 patients (45%) who were operated on were: 1.87 in mobility, 1.81 in self-care, 1.99 in usual activities, 2.11 in pain, and 1.62 in anxiety or depression. Those of the 680 patients (55%) who were treated conservatively were: 1.72 in mobility, 1.60 in self-care, 1.76 in usual activities, 1.98 in pain, and 1.57 in anxiety or depression. Except for the domain of anxiety or depression, scores for the other domains were all significantly worse in the patients who were operated on (p = 0.001). Conclusions: Health related quality of life in the patients with osteoporotic vertebral fractures was significantly worse in both the EQ-5D domains and VAS. Among the osteoporotic vertebral fracture patients, the patients who were operated on had a worse quality of life in EQ-5D.