Pregnancy associated osteoporosis: NHS is “failing women” with rare but serious condition

Women with pregnancy associated osteoporosis (PAO)—a rare condition that causes spine fractures, height loss, and in some cases permanent disability—are struggling to access timely diagnosis and treatment, say experts, patients, and campaigners.“The diagnosis is often missed,” says Stuart Ralston, a rheumatologist who is leading research on PAO at the University of Edinburgh.1 “It strikes young women, usually previously healthy, out of the blue almost. Many come up with spine fractures during, or shortly after, pregnancy.” Juliet Compston, emeritus professor of bone medicine at the University of Cambridge, thinks that women with PAO struggle to receive diagnoses because bone disease doesn’t have a specialty. “Most people will be seen by endocrinologists, rheumatologists, or obstetricians—who often don’t have an in-depth knowledge of rare bone conditions.”Kassim Javaid, professor of osteoporosis and adult rare bone diseases at the University of Oxford, says that women face an uphill battle to get a diagnosis of PAO….
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