Rationale and design of MUSIC OS-EU: an international observational study of the treatment of postmenopausal women for osteoporosis in Europe and Canada

Abstract

Objectives: The Medication Use Patterns, Treatment Satisfaction, and Inadequate Control of Osteoporosis Study (MUSIC OS-EU) was designed to better understand the rate and burden of gastrointestinal (GI) events on clinical and health care outcomes among postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.

Methods: MUSIC OS-EU is a prospective, multinational, observational cohort study of postmenopausal women ≥50 years of age diagnosed with osteoporosis and enrolled in physician clinics in six countries: France, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Canada. The MUSIC OS-EU study has three components: (i) a physician survey to describe their management of osteoporotic patients with GI events; (ii) a retrospective chart survey to describe the receipt and type of osteoporosis medication prescribed; and (iii) a prospective cohort study including untreated and treated patients diagnosed with osteoporosis to investigate the rate of GI events and association with osteoporosis medication use patterns, health-related quality of life, treatment satisfaction and resource utilisation among postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.

Results: Physicians at 97 sites completed the physician questionnaire and data for 716 patients were abstracted for the retrospective chart review. Enrolment and the baseline data collection for the prospective cohort study were conducted between March 2012 and June 2013 for 292 untreated and 2,959 treated patients, of whom 684 were new users and 2,275 were experienced users of oral osteoporosis medications.

Conclusions: The results of MUSIC OS-EU will illuminate the association of GI events with the management of osteoporosis and with patient-reported outcomes among postmenopausal women with osteoporosis in Europe and Canada.