Government to start issuing free medicines for osteoporosis

Some 20,000 suffer from the condition

March 15, 2023| Times of Malta 1 min read
Once osteoporosis develops, one may experience symptoms that could include back pain, loss of height over time, a hunched posture as well as the presence of compression or stress fractures. Photo: Shutterstock.comOnce osteoporosis develops, one may experience symptoms that could include back pain, loss of height over time, a hunched posture as well as the presence of compression or stress fractures. Photo: Shutterstock.com

The government is publishing a legal notice to put medicines for osteoporosis on the list of free government medicines, Health Minister Chris Fearne has announced.

Osteoporosis weakens the bones to the point that they can break easily. 

Some 20,000 mostly elderly people suffer from the condition in Malta, most of them women.  

Data by the International Osteoporosis Foundation in 2021 showed that The prevalence of osteoporosis in the total population amounted to 4.9%, on par with the EU27+2 average (5.6%). In Malta, 19.8% of women and 5.9% of men aged 50 years or more were estimated to have osteoporosis. Hip fracture is the most serious consequence of osteoporosis in terms of morbidity, mortality and health care expenditure.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.