Osteoporosis

Although osteoporosis increases the likelihood of any bone breaking, the typical sites are the wrist, hip, and vertebrae. It is estimated that at least one-half of the women and one-eighth of the men over age fifty will suffer an osteoporotic fracture in their lifetimes. Hip fractures are among the most devastating consequences of osteoporosis. Twenty percent of persons die within one year of breaking a hip and only one-third will regain their pre-fracture functional level. The morbidity from vertebral fractures is also considerable. The pain from an acute fracture can last weeks to months, and elderly persons in particular may require admission to hospital for pain management. Chronic back pain may occur, and persons with multiple vertebral fractures may lose height to the extent that their ribs rest painfully on the top of their pelvic bones. Economically, osteoporosis resulted in $13.8 billion of nursing home and hospital costs in the United States in 1995 alone.