The UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has published final guidance on the use of drugs to prevent primary and secondary osteoporotic fractures in postmenopausal women.

The guidance recommends a range of treatments, depending on a woman’s age, her bone density, and how many indicators of fragile bones or risk factors for fracture she has.

It recommends alendronic acid as the first line treatment for primary prevention in women aged 70 or over who are given a diagnosis of osteoporosis and who have a clinical risk factor for the condition or an indicator of low bone density.

NICE defines a diagnosis as a T score of −2.5 or below on dual energy …