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Osteoporosis: Know the Facts
- What is osteoporosis?
- How common is osteoporosis in women?
- What are the symptoms of osteoporosis?
- How common are fractures in women with osteoporosis?
What is osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis, or porous bone, is a disease in which bones become fragile and more likely to break. If not prevented or if left untreated, osteoporosis can progress painlessly until a bone breaks. These broken bones, also known as fractures, occur typically in the hip, spine, and wrist.Any bone can be affected, but of special concern are fractures of the hip and spine. A hip fracture almost always requires hospitalization and major surgery. It can impair a person's ability to walk unassisted and may cause prolonged or permanent disability or even death. Spinal or vertebral fractures also have serious consequences, including loss of height, severe back pain, and deformity. Millions of women are at risk. Women are four times more likely than men to develop the disease.
Osteoporosis is not part of normal aging although many people continue to believe this is true. However, age is a risk factor for developing osteoporosis.
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How common is osteoporosis in women?
- The number of women age 50 and older who have osteoporosis or are at risk for developing the disease will increase from almost 30 million in 2002 to over 35 million in 2010 and to approximately 41 million in 2020.
- Non-Hispanic white women are disproportionately afflicted with this disease, but the number of women of other races and ethnic groups is also significant.
- Eighty percent of those affected by osteoporosis are women.
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What are the symptoms of osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis is often called the "silent disease" because bone loss occurs without symptoms. People may not know that they have osteoporosis until their bones become so weak that a sudden strain, bump or fall causes a fracture or a vertebra to collapse. Collapsed vertebrae may initially be felt or seen in the form of severe back pain, loss of height, or spinal deformities such as kyphosis (stooped posture).[ back to top ]
How common are fractures in women with osteoporosis?
- One in two women over age 50 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in her lifetime.
- Osteoporosis is responsible for more than 1.5 million fractures annually, including:
- 300,000 hip fractures; and approximately
- 700,000 vertebral fractures,
- 250,000 wrist fractures; and
- 300,000 fractures at other sites.
- The most typical sites of fractures related to osteoporosis are the hip, spine, wrist and ribs, although the disease can affect any bone in the body.
- The rate of hip fractures is two to three times higher in women than men; however the one year mortality following a hip fracture is nearly twice as high for men as for women.
- A woman's risk of hip fracture is equal to her combined risk of breast, uterine and ovarian cancer.
- In 1991, about 300,000 Americans age 45 and over were admitted to hospitals with hip fractures. Osteoporosis was the underlying cause of most of these injuries.
- On average, 24 percent of hip fracture patients age 50 and over die in the year following their fracture.
- One-fourth of those who were ambulatory before their hip fracture require long-term care afterward.
- At six months after a hip fracture, only 15% of hip fracture patients can walk across a room unaided.
- White women 65 or older have twice the incidence of fractures as African-American women.
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