§ Mr. HansonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what new initiatives have been taken by her Department in the preventive treatment of osteoporosis during the period 1985 to 1991; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mr. SackvilleAmong many other measures we have emphasised the importance of adopting a healthy lifestyle including a good diet, regular exercise throughout life, the avoidance of smoking and excessive alcohol consumption, for example in the booklet "Your Health: A Guide to Services for Women". We have reinforced these messages recently in the White Paper "The Health of the Nation". We have encouraged the use of hormone replacement therapy—HRT—when appropriate, because timely intervention can often prevent further deterioration. In 1990 we funded the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to set up a study group of international experts to look at HRT and osteoporosis, the findings of which were published by the college. We have supported the work of charitable bodies such as the National180W Osteoporosis Society to produce literature for doctors and patients, and we are currently part funding the society's new handbook for GPs and practice nurses. We have sponsored research by Professor John Kanis of the department of human metabolism and clinical biochemistry at the university of Sheffield into screening for postmenopausal osteoporosis, and by Professor Martin Vessey of the department of public health and primary care at the university of Oxford into a cost-effective analysis of HRT.