Epidemiology

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines osteoporosis as the condition of having a bone mineral density ≥2.5 standard deviations below that of a young person's bone mass.[6]

In 2010, it was estimated that a total of 54 million US adults aged ≥50 years were affected by osteoporosis and low bone mass.[7] In the US, between 2017 and 2018, 43.1% of people aged ≥50 years had low bone mass at the femur neck or lumbar spine; 12.6% of people ≥50 years had osteoporosis at the femur neck or lumbar spine.​​[8] The prevalence of osteoporosis at either skeletal site was higher among women (51.5%) compared with men (33.5%)​.[8] Although osteoporotic fractures affect women more frequently than men, the risk of osteoporotic fracture in men is still significant.​[9]​​

It is thought that 50% of white women and 20% of white men aged >50 years will sustain an osteoporotic fracture at some point during their lifetime.[10] Rates of fracture differ by ethnic/racial population and skeletal site.[11] For fracture at any site in women, after adjusting for bone mineral density, weight, and other co-variates, non-Hispanic white and Hispanic-American women have the highest risk for fracture, followed by Native Americans, African Americans, and Asian Americans. For hip fracture in men, the age-adjusted incidence is highest for non-Hispanic white men, similar among Hispanic-American and black men, and lowest in Asian men.​​[11][12][13]

Osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures are a leading cause of disability and morbidity in older people.[11][14][15] The consequences of these fractures include pain, which may be incapacitating, and progressive vertebral collapse with resultant spinal kyphosis. These fractures have been shown to adversely affect quality of life, physical function, mental health, and survival.[16]​​[17]​​[18]

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