HEALTH STATUS - Morbidity

51

Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is characterized by progressive loss of bone density and thinning of bone tissue, leading to vulnerability to bone fractures. The condition can result from disease, dietary or hormonal deficiency, or advanced age.(1) Ten million Americans have osteoporosis and another 18 million are at risk due to low bone density. Osteoporosis is responsible for more than 1.5 million fractures annually, including hip fractures, vertebral and rib fractures, wrist fractures, and fractures at other sites.(2)

National data from 1999 indicate that nearly 90 percent of those with osteoporosis were women and most of these women were aged 65 and older. Fewer than 2 percent of women under 65 had ever been told they have osteoporosis compared to 15.4 percent of women aged 65-74 years and 18.1 percent of women aged 75 and older. The condition was approximately twice as common among non-Hispanic White women (5.5 percent) than the average rate for non-Hispanic Black women (1.3 percent), Hispanic women (1.9 percent), and women of other race and ethnicity (3.2 percent).

Immutable risk factors for osteoporosis include female gender, older age, small or thin body size, Caucasian and Asian ethnicity, and family history of fractures. Modifiable risk factors include a diet low in calcium and vitamin D, use of certain medications, an inactive lifestyle or extended bed rest, cigarette smoking, and excessive alcohol consumption.(3)

Because it can be asymptomatic and difficult to diagnose in the absence of bone fracture, osteoporosis is often called "the silent disease." The only way to determine bone density and fracture risk for osteoporosis is through a bone mineral density test.

The condition may be prevented and treated through a diet rich in calcium and vitamin D, exercise, elimination of smoking or excessive alcohol intake, and medication such as estrogen therapy.(3)

1 - MEDLINEplus Medical Encyclopedia: Osteoporosis. Http://medlineplus.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepage/17285.htm

2 - National Osteoporosis Foundation, Disease Statistics, http://www.nof.org/osteoporosis/stats.htm

3 - Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases National Resource Center. Osteoporosis Overview. National Institutes of Health, October 2000. http://www/osteo.org/osteo.html.

1.9% of females under 65 years of age were diagnosed with osteoporosis in 1999, while 15.4% of females between the ages of 65-74 years and 18.1% of females 75+ years have been diagnosed.
1.3% of black non-Hispanic females, 1.9% of Hispanic females, 3.2% of other race/ethnicity, and 5.5% of white non-Hispanic females were diagnosed with osteoporosis in 1999.

 

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