KEY POINTS:
A report commissioned by Osteoporosis New Zealand that says the disease causes a hip fracture in New Zealand every two hours has been called flawed and misleading.
Women's Health Action Trust investigated the report, the Burden of Osteoporosis in New Zealand (Bonz), which was released in October.
The trust said it was alarmed to find the figures was not based on New Zealand osteoporosis fracture statistics, but were actually taken from a 6-year-old Swedish study.
Trust member Gill Sanson said the report had taken the known 3500 or so hip fractures that occurred in New Zealand adults and had assumed they had all been caused by osteoporosis - regardless of how they occurred.
Ms Gill said the study had then calculated the number of osteoporotic fractures of the rib, vertebrae, clavicle, scapula, fibula, tibia, scapula, sternum, forearm and pelvis.
She said it was "highly suspect to extrapolate fragility fracture incidence from one type of fracture to another".
The report found that 80,000 New Zealanders would break bones this year because of osteoporosis.
Ms Sanson said Fonterra had helped fund the Bonz report and it had been convenient for the company that the researchers had advised New Zealanders to drink more milk. She said there was insufficient evidence to show that increased dairy consumption helped to actually prevent fractures.
Osteoporosis New Zealand executive director Julia Gallagher said yesterday that the report had been carried out independently by the University of Auckland.
It was commissioned by Osteoporosis New Zealand and supported by an independent education grant from Fonterra.
However, Fonterra had nothing to do with the commissioning, direction or content of the report, she said.
Osteoporosis New Zealand had been "transparent" about Fonterra's involvement.
Ms Gallagher said the Bonz report provided properly researched and authoritative New Zealand data.
She said a calcium-rich diet and exercise, preferably from an early age, were two of the most effective ways of maintaining good bone health.
Ms Gallagher said it was accepted internationally that a low-trauma fracture occurring in women older than 50 was considered a strong indicator of osteoporosis.
She said there was a bone fracture every six minutes and "one due to hip fracture" every two hours.
- NZPA
