Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is one of the most prevalent diseases of aging and affects more than 25 million people in the U. S. alone; 80 percent of those affected are women 47,39. It is considered a silent disease because bone loss is asymptomatic and the first sign is often a fracture 34,44. Not only is osteoporosis responsible for more than 1.5 million fractures among Americans but it also contributes to a huge economic cost 47,31. Fracture related costs are estimated annually at 10 to 12 billion dollars which computes to approximately 27 million dollars a day 31. A great amount of knowledge on the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis exists that can be used to halt the epidemic.