First described in 1824 by Cooper, then later related to menopause by Albright and Reifenstein in 1948. The first observations were made by noticing the weight decrease in the bones of old patients compared to those of young patients. A metabolic bone disease characterized by low bone mass and microarchitectural deterioration of bone tissue, leading to enhanced bone fragility and a consequent increase in the fracture risk. Diagnosis, prophylaxis, and treatment of osteoporosis. Prevalence refers to the number of people in a population that already had fractures because of osteoporosis at that time.
Incidence refers to new events in a population in a defined amount of time.
Studies of prevalence and incidence tend to focus more on hip, wrist and nonvertebral fractures. This data is more reliable because they tend to be symptomatic. Vertebral fractures are frequently not clinically apparent. To determine vertebral fracture occurrence one would have to do screening radiographs periodically. Lifetime risk is the likelihood of developing a fracture after the age of 50.