Information for participants and carers

Information for GP Practices

Information for study centres

Glossary

Randomised controlled trial

A randomised controlled trial (RCT) is a research study that randomly assigns the people taking part to either an intervention or a control group, in order to measure the effects of the intervention in a systematic way.

Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis means, literally, 'porous bone'. It is a condition where people gradually lose bone material so that the bones become more fragile. As a result, they are more likely to break even after a simple fall.  For further information about osteoporosis, see our Useful Links section.

Control

In the SCOOP study, people in the ‘control’ group will not be screened for risk of fracture.  They will receive usual care from their GP during the course of the study.  This may include being referred for a DEXA bone density scan if, for example, a fracture occurs.  People in the ‘control’ group will be asked to complete follow-up questionnaires.

DEXA

A scan to test the strength or density of the bones.  The results provide some indication of how much risk there is of the bones fracturing.  The scan involves lying on a couch, fully clothed, for about 10 minutes while the bones are x-rayed. The dose of x-rays is tiny – about the same as spending a day out in the sun.  The technique is called dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA).

Intervention

In the SCOOP study, the intervention being measured is a method of screening for risk of fracture that involves completing a questionnaire and (in selected participants) attending for a DEXA bone density scan.

Drug treatment

There are a number of available drugs that have been proven to be effective in helping to prevent fractures.  The most commonly used are called bisphosphonates.  This group of drugs works by slowing bone loss; in many people, an increase in bone density can be measured over 5 years of treatment.  Both alendronate (Fosamax) and risedronate (Actonel) reduce the risk of hip and spine fractures in patients with osteoporosis.  They are available either as daily-dose tablets or weekly-dose tablets. Etidronate (Didronel) is a slightly weaker drug of the same group, which is well tolerated and is taken in 3-month cycles.