Osteoporosis

Excerpt

Osteoporosis is defined as low bone mineral density caused by altered bone microstructure, ultimately predisposing patients to low-impact, fragility fractures. Osteoporotic fractures lead to a significant decrease in quality of life, increasing morbidity, mortality, and disability. Over 50% of postmenopausal white women will have an osteoporotic-related fracture. Only 33% of senior women who have a hip fracture will be able to return to independence. In white men, the risk of an osteoporotic fracture is 20%, but the one-year mortality in men who have a hip fracture is twice that of women. Black males and females have less osteoporosis than their white counterparts, but those diagnosed with osteoporosis have similar fracture risks. The aging of the American population is expected to triple the number of osteoporotic fractures.