Nearly 60,000 women aged 55 years and older have enrolled in a landmark, multi-national study that will focus on the management of osteoporosis across the globe.
Launch of the Global Longitudinal Registry of Osteoporosis in Women (GLOW) was announced today at ECCEO 8 (Eighth European Congress on Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis) in Istanbul, Turkey. This groundbreaking observational study (registry) in osteoporosis aims to gain insights to improve the standard of care for postmenopausal women at risk of osteoporosis.
“We know that there are patients at high risk for osteoporosis, sometimes already having suffered a broken bone, who aren't getting diagnosed and treated. We have to figure out why not,” said Dr. Robert Lindsay, GLOW Executive Committee Co-Chair and Chief of Internal Medicine at Helen Hayes Hospital, West Haverstraw, NY. “Globally we have an aging female population that wants to maintain independence and vitality. We can help by finding the key to improving diagnosis and treatment of this debilitating disease.”
GLOW will monitor tens of thousands of older women who have visited a primary care physician in the past two years. Since patient recruitment for GLOW is not linked to osteoporosis diagnosis and does not alter physician practice, the study provides a good representation of “typical” older women and the bone health care they receive in the real world. Women are participating from 17 cities in 10 countries on 3 continents.
“We want to understand regional differences in physician and patient behavior and how that impacts patient outcomes,” said Professor Pierre Delmas, GLOW Executive Committee Co-Chair and Professor of Medicine and Rheumatology, Université Claude Bernard, Lyon, France. “Hopefully, armed with that knowledge we will be able to recommend best practices and improve the management of osteoporosis worldwide.”