Nor did they know that some 50,000 women die yearly from blood clots and pneumonia, complications of hospitalization for hip fractures, more than succumb to breast cancer, a disease women are more likely to fear. Some men do develop osteoporosis, but in far fewer numbers than women, and at a later age. Most men have more bone mass to begin with, and suffer slower bone loss with age than women. They usually weigh more and have larger muscles than women, consume more calcium and get more exercise. Unlike women, men do not have a sudden decline in the sex hormones that protect bone . . .
Osteoporosis is painful, disfiguring, and debilitating.
Clothing no longer fits, the torso is no longer in proportion to the legs and arms, and strangers stare. Bone fractures and broken hips are also part of the osteoporosis syndrome. Many older women with osteoporosis are afraid to do routine errands during the winter months they know that icy pavement and a lack of balance are a dangerous combination. It has always been a problem to diagnose osteoporosis early enough to prevent real damage. Most diagnostic methods are not definitive.