BBJ - Osteoporosis

The term osteoporosis literally means “porous bone,” which describes the process whereby the structural components of bone (collagen fibres and minerals) reduce over time and the size of the pores between the structural components increases. This reduces the strength of the bone and the ability of bone resist external forces leading to breaks in the bone, or fractures.

Osteoporosis is a very common disease both in the UK, and worldwide where it is responsible for over 9 million fractures annually. In the UK the disease affects over 3 million people, and over 300,000 people seek hospital treatment for osteoporosis related fractures every year. Women are affected more than men because they lose bone more rapidly with age, this is particularly true after the menopause when oestrogen levels fall. At the age of 50 just 2% of women will have osteoporosis, but this rises to 25% by 80 years of age. Of course men can be affected as well, over the course of a lifetime one out of three women, and one out of five men will suffer from an osteoporotic fracture.