The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Osteoporosis Diagnosis and Treatment in Iran: A National Study
Abstract
Background The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the management of non-communicable diseases, including osteoporosis. Objectives This study aims to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on osteoporosis diagnosis and treatment in Iran. Methods This cross-sectional study evaluated changes in the number of prescriptions for osteoporosis diagnosis and treatment before and during the COVID-19 pandemic from all available and complete data. Data on the number of prescriptions for bone mineral density (BMD) tests, osteoporosis-related lab tests (serum vitamin D level and serum calcium level), and medications (alendronate and calcitonin) were obtained from the Iran Health Insurance Organization (IHIO) dataset from March 2019 to March 2022. Additionally, the University of Sheffield provided the number of fracture risk assessment tool (FRAX®) used with the internet protocol (IP) addresses of Iran from 2019 to 2023. Statistical analysis was performed using the Mann-Whitney test and the interrupted time series analysis utilizing STATA. This research was carried out with the support of the Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, under project code 1400-02-103-1177. Results A total number of 4,901,027 prescriptions composed of 62,718 prescriptions for BMD tests, 2,862,871 prescriptions for serum vitamin D level tests, and 1,952,600 prescriptions for serum calcium level tests regarding diagnosis, and a total…
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Evidence Hub reads this as a cross-sectional. Its evidence level is 4 of 5 (Low · observational). Observational designs can show an association but not prove cause.
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