Osteoporosis affects over 25 million Americans each year and is responsible for 1.3 million fractures per year. Osteoporosis is the thinning of your bone. As you mature, your body builds bone faster than it breaks down. After age 25-35, this slowly reverses and the breakdown becomes faster than the building, especially in women after menopause. This causes the bones to become brittle and increases your risk for a fracture.

Yes, although certain people are more likely to develop osteoporosis than others. Risk factors that increase the likelihood of developing osteoporosis may be related to your body type, your family history, or your lifestyle behaviors, or some combination of these three factors. However, about 30% of individuals with osteoporosis have no identifiable risk factors.

In addition to taking medication as prescribed by your health care professional, you should continue to follow the guidelines for prevention of osteoporosis, including getting adequate calcium, vitamin D and exercise and limiting alcohol, caffeine and smoking.

In the U.S. approximately 10 million people have been diagnosed with osteoporosis and 18 million have been found to have low bone mass. One third to one half of all postmenopausal women will develop osteoporosis. One third of all women over 50 will suffer from a fracture related to osteoporosis.

Yes. In the U.S. approximately 1.5 million fractures occur annually as a result of osteoporosis. Of these, 500,000 are vertebral fractures, 275,000 are hip and 200,000 are wrist. About 50,000 deaths occur annually as a result of fractures. In 1995, osteoporosis accounted for 432,000 hospitalizations, 2.5 million physician visits and 180,000 nursing home admissions.