May is Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention month

What do you know of Osteoporosis? If you're anything like me, then your answer is probably not much. I nly know the little in the TV ad for a drug to prevent against the bone disease. American Recall Center sent the infographic above to me and I decided to educate myself further and also share with my readers.


The American Recall Center is a brand new site devoted to providing health and wellness news in simple, straightforward terms. Their ultimate goal is to help our readers take complete charge of their health by being fully informed!

And for the Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention month, they want to help the cause by spreading awareness! They created this graphic that outlines some of the facts and risk factors about the disease. For example, nearly 75% of all hip fractures occur in women. This disease predominantly affects women, and so I felt very happy to share.

According to their Hip Replacement Factsheet;

Osteoporosis refers to a progressive loss of bone density, resulting in weaker bones that are more apt to break or fracture at even mild trauma. Aging, heredity, diet and lifestyle are all factors in osteoporosis, as are certain medications and medical conditions. Osteoporosis is a often a factor in hip fractures, which frequently lead to hip replacement surgery.

- One out of every two women and one in four men over 50 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in their lifetime. The most serious osteoporotic fractures are hip fractures.

- The majority of those who experience hip fractures will require assistance in their day-to-day lives. Twenty percent of seniors who suffer a hip fracture die within a year.

- Due to an aging population and a lack of focus on bone health in the past, the number of hip fractures in the United States could double or triple by the year 2020.

- Nearly 75% of all hip fractures occur in women.

- Osteoporosis accounts for more time spent in the hospital than diseases like diabetes, heart attack and breast cancer among women over 45.

- Hip fractures cost more than $11 billion each year (approximately $37,000 per patient).

Osteoporosis can make hip replacement surgery more difficult in cases when the bone has deteriorated so much that it can’t support the weight of the implant. It can also contribute to implant failure. Hip replacements that utilize a cementless femoral stem have a higher incidence of periprosthetic fracture in patients with osteoporosis, and total hip arthroplasty after a hip fracture may make dislocation more common.

I encourage my readers to inform themselves on this condition and take steps to protect their bones as they begin to get older.