Most commonly, people with advanced osteoporosis fracture their hip, spine, or wrist. It's possible that her fall caused her weakened, osteoporotic hip to break. But it's also possible that the bone in her hip was so fragile that an ordinary movement made it break which then caused the woman to fall. The risk of osteoporosis becomes higher as a person gets older.
Women are more likely to be affected than men, for hormonal reasons.
However, osteoporosis can afflict people at any age, and a percentage of men also develop osteoporosis. To the individual, osteoporosis does not have obvious symptoms. Years may go by with the bone becoming weaker and weaker, until finally a fracture occurs. Hip fractures can lead to the loss of mobility and independence in the elderly. Consider these statistics About 25 million Americans suffer from osteoporosis.