Osteoporosis Fact Sheet

• Osteoporosis, a debilitating, bone-thinning disease, occurs when bones lose mass due to depletion of calcium and bone protein. People with osteoporosis are more likely to break bones, especially in the hip, spine and wrist, and have slow-healing fractures.

• Osteoporosis is a major public health threat for more than 28 million Americans.

• Eighty percent of those affected by osteoporosis are women.

• Ten million Americans have osteoporosis. Eight million are women, two million are men.

• Eighteen million more Americans have low bone mass and are at risk for osteoporosis.

• One out of two women and one in eight men over age 50 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in their lifetime.

• Women can lose up to 20 percent of their bone mass in the 5 to 7 years following menopause, making them more susceptible to osteoporosis.

• Osteoporosis can strike at any age.

• Osteoporosis is responsible for more than 1.5 million fractures annually, including:

    300,000 hip fractures

    700,000 vertebral fractures

    250,000 wrist fractures

• The estimated national direct cost for osteoporotic and associated fractures is $13.8 billion, or $38 million a day, and rising.

• Bone density tests can detect osteoporosis and predict chances of a fracture.

(Source: National Insititutes of Health)