Osteoporosis depletes both the calcium salts and the protein in the bone. Bone fracture in osteoporosis can occur with only a minor fall or injury that normally would not cause a bone fracture. Normal bone has two layers. Different types of osteoporosis affect different proportion of trabecular and cortical bone. In postmenopause osteoporosis, the spine is more commonly affected than the hip.
Osteoporosis leads to bone fractures.
Over 20 million people have osteoporosis in the United States, and approximately 1.3 million people each year will suffer a broken bone as a result of osteoporosis. The osteoporosis process can operate silently for decades. The patients may not be aware of their brittle osteoporotic bones until suffering a fracture. In 1993, the United States incurred an estimated loss of 10 billion dollars due to loss of productivity and health care costs related to osteoporosis.