Osteoporosis & Bone Density | How We Screen for Osteoporosis | Warning Signs & Symptoms Prevention & Risk Factors

The Facts about Osteoporosis:

• Osteoporosis is a major public health threat for 44 million Americans, equating to 55 percent of those 50 and older.
  (Source: National Osteoporosis Foundation)
• A woman's risk of hip fracture is equal to her combined risk of breast, uterine and ovarian cancer.
  (Source: National Osteoporosis Foundation)
• In the U.S. today, 10 million individuals already have osteoporosis and 34 million more have low bone mass, placing them at increased risk for this disease.
  (Source: National Institutes of Health)
• One out of every two women and one in four men over 50 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in their lifetime.
  (Source: National Institutes of Health)
• More than two million American men suffer from osteoporosis, and millions more are at risk. Each year, 80,000 men have a hip fracture. One-third of these men die within a year.
  (Source: National Institutes of Health)
• Osteoporosis is responsible for more than 1.5 million fractures annually, including 300,000 hip fractures, approximately 700,000 vertebral fractures, 250,000 wrist fractures, and more than 300,000 fractures at other sites.
  (Source: National Institutes of Health)
• Based on figures from hospitals and nursing homes, the estimated national direct expenditures for osteoporosis and related fractures totaled $18 billion in 2002 (38 million per day) and is rising each year. The cost of care for these patients and lost work adds up to billions more.
  (Source: 2004 Surgeon General Report on Bone Health and Osteoporosis)
• If you are elderly, a broken hip makes you up to four times more likely to die within three months.
  (Source: 2004 Surgeon General Report on Bone Health and Osteoporosis)
• One in five people with a hip fracture end up in a nursing home within a year.
  (Source: 2004 Surgeon General Report on Bone Health and Osteoporosis)
• Osteoporosis is often called a "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.
  (Source: National Osteoporosis Foundation)

Be Proactive. Stay Healthy.