Of the 10 million Americans estimated to have osteoporosis, eight million are women. (1) Osteoporosis can cause many health problems, particularly for older women, and it is a major risk factor for hip fracture.
What percentage of women age 50 and older have osteoporosis?
The prevalence of osteoporosis among women in the United States is 17.6%.
Research did not reveal any reliable data on the prevalence of osteoporosis by state. Therefore, the Report Card includes only national information about this disease. Neither the states nor the nation are graded on this indicator. (2)
Data Source: Osteoporosis (%) (National Only), 2002
EXPLANATION:
The prevalence of osteoporosis in the non-institutionalized civilian population age 50 and older is based on World Health Organization (WHO) diagnostic criteria. Estimates of low femoral bone density are based on dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) measurements of femoral BMD. The 2002 prevalence is based on data projected from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES III).
SOURCE:
National Osteoporosis Foundation, America's Bone Health: The State of Osteoporosis and Low Bone Mass in Our Nation (Washington: National Osteoporosis Foundation, 2002). The 2002 population denominator used to determine prevalence comes from National Center for Health Statistics, "Bridged-Race Population Estimates (vintage 2005)," [queried from United States July 1st resident population by state, county, age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin, compiled from 1990-1999 intercensal population estimates and 2000-2005 bridged-race postcensal population estimates], Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC WONDER On-line Database, April 2007, available at http://wonder.cdc.gov/Bridged-Race-v2005.HTML.