The Burden of Osteoporosis

One in two women and up to one in four men will break a bone in their lifetime due to osteoporosis. 

For women, the incidence is greater than that of heart attack, stroke and breast cancer combined. 24 percent of hip fracture patients age 50 and over die the year following the fracture. 

Osteoporosis is a global epidemic that escalates progressively with the increase in life expectancy. Nearly a quarter of women over 65 years of age are osteoporotic. 

Despite that, screening remains woefully low, even following a first hip fracture. Therefore, osteoporosis has been described as a silent epidemic and remains alarmingly under-reported1.  

  1. Osteoporosis Screening Is Underutilized Despite Recommendations August 15, 2017, Mary Beth Nierengarten, The Rheumatologist – https://www.the-rheumatologist.org/article/osteoporosis-screening-underutilized-despite-recommendations/