Summary This report describes the epidemiology, burden, and treatment of osteoporosis in the 27 countries of the European Union (EU27). Introduction Osteoporosis is characterized by reduced bone mass and disruption of bone architecture, resulting in increased risk of fragility fractures which represent the main clinical consequence of the disease. Fragility fractures are associated with substantial pain and suffering, disability and even death for affected patients and substantial costs to society. The aim of this report was to characterize the burden of osteoporosis in the EU27 in 2010 and beyond. Methods The literature on fracture incidence and costs of fractures in the EU27 was reviewed and incorporated into a model estimating the clinical and economic burden of osteoporotic fractures in 2010.Results Twenty-two million women and 5.5 million men were estimated to have osteoporosis; and 3.5 million new fragility fractures were sustained, comprising 610,000 hip fractures, 520,000 vertebral fractures, 560,000 forearm fractures and 1,800,000 other fractures (i.e. fractures of the pelvis, rib, humerus, tibia, fibula, clavicle, scapula, sternum and other femoral fractures). The economic burden of incident and prior fragility fractures was estimated at € 37 billion. Incident fractures represented 66 % of this cost, long-term fracture care 29 % and pharmacological prevention 5 %. Previous and incident fractures also accounted for 1,180,000 quality-adjusted life years lost during 2010. The costs are expected to increase by 25 % in 2025. The majority of individuals who have sustained an osteoporosis-related fracture or who are at high risk of fracture are untreated and the number of patients on treatment is declining.

Summary This report describes epidemiology, burden, and treatment of osteoporosis in each of the 27 countries of the European Union (EU27). Introduction In 2010, 22 million women and 5.5 million men were estimated to have osteoporosis in the EU; and 3.5 million new fragility fractures were sustained, comprising 620,000 hip fractures, 520,000 vertebral fractures, 560,000 forearm fractures and 1,800,000 other fractures. The economic burden of incident and prior fragility fractures was estimated at € 37 billion. Previous and incident fractures also accounted for 1,180,000 quality-adjusted life years lost during 2010. The costs are expected to increase by 25 % in 2025. The majority of individuals who have sustained an osteoporosis-related fracture or who are at high risk of fracture are untreated and the number of patients on treatment is declining. The aim of this report was to characterize the burden of osteoporosis in each of the EU27 countries in 2010 and beyond. Methods The data on fracture incidence and costs of fractures in the EU27 were taken from a concurrent publication in this journal (Osteoporosis in the European Union: (2013( ) 8:137 DOI 10.1007 Medical Management, Epidemiology and Economic Burden) and country specific information extracted. Results The clinical and economic burden of osteoporotic fractures in 2010 is given for each of the 27 countries of the EU. The costs are expected to increase on average by 25 % in 2025. The majority of individuals who have sustained an osteoporosis-related fracture or who are at high risk of fracture are untreated and the number of patients on treatment is declining. Conclusions In spite of the high cost of osteoporosis, a substantial treatment gap and projected increase of the economic burden driven by aging populations, the use of pharmacological prevention of osteoporosis has decreased in recent years, suggesting that a change in healthcare policy concerning the disease is warranted.

The findings in this study indicate that there appear to be important variations in the QoL decrements related to fracture between countries.

In spite of the high cost of osteoporosis, a substantial treatment gap and projected increase of the economic burden driven by an aging population, the use of pharmacological prevention of osteoporosis is significantly less than optimal, suggesting that a change in health care policy concerning the disease is warranted.

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A573was inadequate response from traditional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) alone (54.9%), followed by symptom control (13.4%). Among the remaining responses, clinical data (e.g., results from clinical trials) was cited most frequently in the UK (17.1%) compared to Germany/Spain (9.0%/4.7%), while personal experience was cited most in Germany (15.3%) vs. UK/Spain (2.7%/0.9%). Inadequate response to DMARDs was most frequently reported for adalimumab (61.5%) vs. etanercept (46.9%) or other biologics (40.2%); inadequate DMARD symptom control was more cited for etanercept (18.8%) vs. adalimumab (11.1%) or other biologics (9.8%). Among the 23 patients who switched to a second biologic agent, 72.7% were switched due to inadequate response to the first biologic agent. ConClusions: Across the three study countries, prescribers most frequently initiated biologic therapy due to inadequate response or lack of symptom control on traditional DMARDs. Other reasons varied by country, however differences across biologic agents prescribed were minimal.

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IntroductionSickle cell disease (SCD) describes a group of inherited disorders of hemoglobin. Globally, SCD occurs in approximately 300,000-400,000 births annually and is most prevalent in malaria-endemic countries. However, migration has impacted the epidemiology of SCD but data on the matter are scarce. The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiology, treatment uptake, and economic burden of SCD in Sweden, a country with substantial immigration over the last decades.MethodsThis nationwide retrospective observational registry cohort study identified patients with SCD from 2001 to 2018 and followed them from 2006 to 2018. Using data from high-quality population-based Swedish registers, we estimated prevalence, treatment uptake, and SCD-related health care resource use, sick leave and disability pension.ResultsBetween 2006 and 2018 the number of patients with SCD increased from 504 to 670; inpatient hospital stays and outpatient visits increased by 200% and 300%, respectively. Patients with pain crises had approximately twice the number of inpatient episodes and outpatient visit per year, and had higher productivity losses compared to patients without crises.ConclusionIn an era of emerging treatments for SCD, we have, to the best of our knowledge, for the first time comprehensively described epidemiological and economic aspects of SCD in a country where the disease is still rare and not well recognized by the healthcare system.