The importance and impact of Osteoporosis Osteoporosis is a brittle bone disorder that effects over 20 million American women.
Osteoporosis deforms the skeletal structure.
In its severest form, spontaneous fractures occur in the bones of the back, and at the wrist, elbow, shoulder, hip, knee and ankle. It is painful and disabling. Osteoporosis in women is more common than heart attack or breast cancer. The World Health Organization recently placed osteoporosis on the priority list of the non-transmissible diseases for which preventive programs have to be implemented throughout the world. Osteoporosis occurs primarily in women as they move into their elder years, but it can occur in younger females and men as well.