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Osteoporosis Facts and Osteoporosis statistics

Osteoporosis is a condition in which the density and architecture of bone is changed, leading them to become fragile; this results in an increased risk of fracture. All parts of the skeleton are susceptible to breakage in people with osteoporosis, but it is mainly the hips, wrists and spine that are affected.

An ageing population and increases in the amount of testing for the condition has led to a yearly increase in the number of cases. The increase in the number of people with the condition leads to both a lowering in quality of life and a financial burden upon a health system due to the costs involved in treating the condition. Many steps can be taken to lower the risk of getting osteoporosis such as taking a calcium rich diet and performing weight bearing exercises, but unfortunately due to the condition being unnoticed until diagnosed, the changes are often not addressed until people are diagnosed with the condition.

Facts on osteoporosis

The following are some of the facts and statistics released by the European Union and by the National osteoporosis foundation in the united states:

1. The overall costs to medical health systems is estimated at over      5.2 Billion US dollars per year.
2. The amount of people expected to live over 80 is expected to       increase by three fold by the year 2050 in Europe and the USA,       putting further pressure on health systems.
3. 12.5% of all Europeans over the age of 50 are likely to receive a       spinal fracture of some kind in any given year.
4. In the USA over 44 million people have been diagnosed as having      low bone mass
5. Of these over 10 million people have been diagnosed as having      osteoporosis.
6. There is a 40% chance of receiving some kind of fracture at some      time in their remaining years in women over the age of 50
7. Similarly There is a 13% chance of fractures in men over 50
8. Over 400,000 hip fractures occur in the European Union       countries every year.

Other parts of the Osteoporosis Advice site carry information on preventative exercises for osteoporosis and of the benefit of calcium and vitamin D and other nutritional aspects. Simple lifestyle changes in your nutritional intake and exercise regime now may benefit you immensely in the future. However, in case needed, information is also given on treatment of osteoporosis by the use of drugs.