From infancy to old age, these diseases profoundly alter the quality of life for millions of Americans. Each year, osteoporosis, Paget's disease, osteogenesis imperfecta and multiple myeloma, among other bone diseases, strike 30 million Americans and cause loss of independence, disability, pain, and death. Without intervention now, chronic diseases, such as osteoporosis, will drive the cost of acute and long-term care well into the next century and overwhelm any effort to contain health care costs. Osteoporosis is the leading bone disease. It is a bone-thinning disease in which the skeleton becomes so fragile that the slightest movement, even a cough or a sneeze, can cause a bone to fracture.
Osteoporosis is foremost a women's health problem.
One in two women and one in five men are at risk of suffering a fracture due to osteoporosis. A women's risk of developing an osteoporosis-related hip fracture is equal to her combined risk of developing breast, uterine, and ovarian cancer. Each year, osteoporosis leads to more than 1.5 million bone fractures, typically of the hip and spine, although any bone can be affected. The consequences of osteoporosis include pain, disability, deformity, and death. While osteoporosis can be prevented and treated, there is, as yet, no cure.