Fast Facts About Osteoporosis

• Osteoporosis is a disease in which bones become weak and are more likely to break. If not prevented or if left untreated, osteoporosis can progress painlessly until a bone breaks.
• 8 million American women and 2 million American men have osteoporosis. Millions more have low bone density, placing them at increased risk for developing the disease.
• 2.7 million Texans have osteoporosis or low bone density.
• One in two women and one in eight men over age 50 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in their lifetime.
• Osteoporosis is responsible for more than 1.5 million fractures nationally each year.
• Texans experience approximately 80,000 osteoporosis-related fractures each year.
• Americans spend $14 million each year on medical and long-term care for osteoporosis and related fractures.
• While osteoporosis is often thought of as an older person's disease, it can strike at any age.

Last Updated March 24, 2005