From the July 2016 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine

While people today are generally more health conscious and aware of the importance of leading a physically active lifestyle than past generations, doctors are not able to diagnose what they cannot see. Unfortunately, a disease like osteoporosis only presents itself on screening, or when a fracture occurs. With screening, physicians are able to flag those at risk so they can receive treatment and make the right lifestyle changes to prevent further bone loss with the goal of avoiding fractures. Without screening, breaking a bone is often the first sign of osteoporosis.

Physicians and patients are at a great disadvantage when there is no diagnosis until after a fracture has occurred. Women 65 years and older who have a DXA scan and are treated have 22 percent fewer fragility fractures and 35-50 percent fewer hip fractures than those who do not. Additionally, bone density testing is more powerful in predicting fractures than cholesterol is in predicting myocardial infarction, or blood pressure in predicting stroke.


As of 2010, 54 million Americans over age 50 had low bone mass or osteoporosis, placing them at increased risk to suffer from a fracture caused by osteoporosis. This number is expected to increase by 27 percent by 2030. As the tip of the baby boomer generation is just entering their peak fracture age of 70, we should expect to see the impact of our failure to diagnose this disease. Unless Congress takes immediate action to reverse course, the impact on the health care system will be tremendous, as the number of hip fractures is expected to reach its peak when boomers age into their 80s.

In the U.S., low bone mass and osteoporosis are responsible for more than 2 million fractures each year, with half of all women and one-fourth of all men over age 50 experiencing an osteoporosis related fracture in his or her lifetime. Twenty-five percent of women over the age of 50 who sustain a hip fracture will die within one year of the incident occurring. Half will never walk independently again, and 20 percent will be placed in a long-term care facility, putting significant strain on Medicare. Plucking a woman from her family and independent life, a common occurrence after a hip fracture, is tragic.

Although men have a lower probability of fracturing their hip, it is more likely that they will die if such an injury occurs. In fact, roughly half of men will die within a year of sustaining a hip fracture. In recent years, the life expectancy gap between men and women has lessened as men are continuing to live longer, placing them at an age where hip fractures occur with some frequency. Therefore, in the next decade or so, we anticipate that the number of men with hip fractures will not be as far behind in numbers as their female counterparts.

July 2016 Magazine

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