There are many causes and precipitating factors for this condition, but postmenopausal women have the highest incidence of this disease. The impact of osteoporosis on the health of Americans, particularly women, is enormous. Twenty-four million people in the United States are already affected. The disease causes over one million fractures yearly at a cost of ten billion dollars. Hip fracture is the second leading cause of admission to nursing homes for women.
Osteoporosis causes severe and unremitting bone pain.
It is one of the major debilitating disorders that contributes to the loss of functional independence and quality of life in older women. In recent years scientific understanding of osteoporosis has increased greatly. Osteoporosis is no longer considered the inevitable consequence of aging, but a dynamic process that can be prevented, interrupted, and treated by various measures. Investigations on bone development have shown that peak bone mass is acquired during the third decade of life, and then declines at a steady rate thereafter, accelerating markedly in women at menopause. Risk factors for those more likely to develop osteoporosis have been identified.