Broken bones, many of which are due to osteoporosis, put more women over age 55 in the hospital than any other health problem. Fractures hospitalize more older women than heart attack, stroke, or breast cancer, and also lead to higher healthcare costs than any other disease.
This information comes from a study of the number of cases and cost of osteoporosis that was published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Researchers collected data from more than 1,000 hospitals across the nation. They found that almost 5 million women over age 55 were hospitalized because they broke a hip, pelvis, arm, leg, or vertebrae between 2000 and 2011. In that same time, 3 million women were hospitalized for stroke, 2.9 million were hospitalized for het attack, and 700,000 were hospitalized for breast cancer.
"We really underestimate the importance of osteoporosis and fracture, and people underestimate their own risk," Dr. Andrea Singer, one of the authors of the study, told Reuters Health.
About 40% of all hospitalizations in women over age 55 between 2000 and 2011 were due to osteoporosis. The annual hospitalization cost for these fractures is estimated to be $5.1 billion. Heart attack, stroke, and breast cancer cost $4.3 billion, $3 billion and $500 million in hospitalization costs per year, respectively
Osteoporosis affects 10% of women and 2% of men in the United States, or more than five million people over the age of 50, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Osteoporosis is when the body loses bone tissue. Bones become weak and brittle. Broken bones in the elderly are serious injuries. Half of all elderly people who break a hip never get back to a normal lifestyle. Any older individual who has broken a bone should be evaluated for osteoporosis. Treatment can slow or reverse the loss of bone tissue.
Bone strength can be increased with a diet rich in calcium and vitamin C, and by regular weight-bearing exercise like brisk walking.
