Yet most people are unaware fractures are related to osteoporosis. Unfortunately, few people recognize how fractures caused by osteoporosis can impact their lives and many still do not realize that breaking a bone as an adult is often a warning sign of osteoporosis, a systemic, progressive disease that leaves bones fragile and susceptible to fracture. Osteoporosis is a disease and its consequences are much more serious than just spending several weeks in a cast. Fractures due to osteoporosis can lead to chronic pain, loss of independence and, in the case of hip fracture, can be life-threatening. One of every five persons who has a hip fracture will not survive more than one year.
Osteoporosis is a major factor in most hip fractures.
In people age 65 and older, ninety percent of hip fractures in women and eighty percent of those in men can be attributed to osteoporosis. Often these fractures result from a minor fall. Osteoporosis also is responsible for approximately 700,000 vertebral, or spinal, fractures each year. Nearly 20 percent of women who experience a vertebral fracture will have another within one year. Multiple vertebral fractures can result in collapsed vertebrae, stooped posture, loss of height, chronic pain and disability, loss of independence, and can cause compression of the lungs and stomach.