HealthYes! Public Relations Group has proactively gathered the following statistics on Osteoporosis. The information provided is designed to aid medical reporters when completing their due diligence and authoring articles or news stories on HealthYes! and cardiovascular disease in public media. Our hopes are that by building awareness via the media, a more informed and healthy community will result.

Osteoporosis is a major public health threat for 44 million Americans, equating to 55 percent of those 50 and older. (Source: Fast Facts on Osteoporosis. National Osteoporosis Foundation)

Approximately one in two women and one in four men over age 50 will have an osteoporosis related fracture in their remaining lifetime. (Source: Fast Facts on Osteoporosis. National Osteoporosis Foundation)

50% of people who fracture a hip will be unable to walk without assistance. About 1 in 5 hip fracture patients over age 50 die in the year following their fracture as a result of associated medical complications. (Source: Handout on Health: Osteoporosis. National Institutes of Health)

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. (Source: Fast Facts on Osteoporosis. National Osteoporosis Foundation)

A woman's risk of hip fracture is equal to her combined risk of breast, uterine and ovarian cancer. (Source: Fast Facts on Osteoporosis. National Osteoporosis Foundation)

If you are elderly, a broken hip makes you up to 4 times more likely to die within 3 months. (Source: Bone Health and Osteoporosis. The Surgeon General’s Report)

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: Handout on Health: Osteoporosis. National Institutes of Health)

More than two million American men suffer from osteoporosis, and millions more are at risk. (Source: Handout on Health: Osteoporosis. National Institutes of Health)

Each year, 80,000 men have a hip fracture. One-third of these men die within a year. (Source: Osteoporosis. 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: Osteoporosis. National Institutes of Health)

The 1.5 million osteoporotic fractures in the United States each year lead to more 500,000 hospitalizations, over 800,000 emergency room encounters, more than 2,600,000 physician office visits, and the placement of nearly 180,000 individuals into nursing homes. (Source: Bone Health and Osteoporosis. The Surgeon General’s Report)

Annual direct care expenditures for osteoporotic fractures range from $12 to $18 billion per year in 2002 dollars. Indirect costs (e.g., lost productivity) likely add billions of dollars to this figure. These costs could double or triple in the coming decades. (Source: Bone Health and Osteoporosis. The Surgeon General’s Report)

One in 5 people with a hip fracture end up in a nursing home within a year. (Source: Bone Health and Osteoporosis. The Surgeon General’s Report)

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: Osteoporosis. National Institutes of Health.)

For more information on osteoporosis, or to request a press kit, please contact our Director of Communications by phone at 1-800-555-9190 or by email at PR@HealthYes.com.