► Osteoporosis is a so-called “silent” disease with no obvious signs or symptoms. Often the first sign of the disease is a potentially debilitating fracture.

► Osteoporosis is a disease characterized by weak and porous bones with a low bone mass density (BMD) level. The World Health Organization defines osteoporosis as having a BMD at or below -2.5 on the BMD T-score test and having a fracture.¹

► 44 million Americans have osteoporosis or low bone mass, placing them at risk for osteoporosis.²

► One in two women and one in four men will be affected by osteoporosis.³

► Each day 10,000 Americans turn 65. By 2030, 71 million Americans will be 65 or older, making up 20 percent of the population and accounting for a 25 percent increase in medical spending. Age is a key risk factor for osteoporosis.⁴

► The only way to detect osteoporosis is with a bone density test. Despite being a covered service under Medicare with no out-of-pocket costs, bone density tests are routinely underutilized by elderly, at-risk populations. In 2005 an estimated 30 percent of women and four percent of men on Medicare received a bone density test.⁵

► Costs associated with osteoporosis are above $18 billion in America and are expected to double by 2050.⁶

► The most common fractures due to osteoporosis occur in the hip and vertebrae.⁷

► Hip fractures have a mortality rate between 12 and 20 percent after six months, and affect women more often than men by a ratio of nearly three to one. Hip fractures severely compromise a person’s quality of life.⁸

► In 2008, only 22 percent of Medicare fracture patients went on to receive osteoporosis treatment.⁹

► 90 percent of adult bone mass is developed by age 18 in women and age 20 in men, meaning early years are critical for healthy bones.¹⁰

► Only 35 percent of adults in America receive the daily recommended value of calcium.¹¹

Sources:
1. Compston, J. “Osteoporosis: Social and Economic Impact,” Radiologic Clinics of North America 48 (2010): 477-482.
2. The National Osteoporosis Foundation
3. NOF Fast Facts http://www.nof.org/node/40
4. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and The Merck Company Foundation. “The State of Aging and Health in America 2007.” The Merck Company Foundation (2007).
5. Curtis JR, Carbone L, Cheng H, Hayes B, Laster A, Matthews R, Saag KG, Sepanski R, Tanner SB, Delzell E. “Longitudinal Trends in Use of Bone Mass Measurement Among Older Americans, 1999-2005.” Journal of Bone and Mineral Research 23 No. 7 (2008): 1061-1067.
6. Compston, J. “Osteoporosis: Social and Economic Impact,” Radiologic Clinics of North America 48 (2010): 477-482.
7. NOF Fast Facts
8. Compston, J. “Osteoporosis: Social and Economic Impact,” Radiologic Clinics of North America 48 (2010): 477-482.
9. National Committee for Quality Assurance, The State of Health Care Quality 2008
10. NOF Fast Facts
11. ABH Fast Facts