Osteoporosis prevalence markedly increases with age and is more common in women than in men. In 2011-12, about 15% of women and 3% of men aged over 50 years reported that they had osteoporosis; however the prevalence may actually be much higher.
The report uses self reported data from the Australian Health Survey for women and men who were living in the community (not in residential aged care) who had a diagnosis of osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis causes bones to become thin, weak and fragile, so that even a minor bump or accident can cause a fracture (broken bone).
“As osteoporosis has no obvious symptoms, the condition often goes undiagnosed until a fracture occurs, which means that it is difficult to determine the actual number of people with this condition,” says Louise York, AIHW spokesperson.
A recent study measuring bone density in a population sample, showed the prevalence of osteoporosis among people aged 50 and over was estimated to be 23% for women and 6% for men.
“While osteoporosis can occur at any age, bone loss generally occurs over a long period of time and so older people, particularly post-menopausal women, are at greater risk of having this condition,” Ms York says.
“With an ageing population, an increasing number of Australians, particularly those aged over 50, are at risk of developing osteoporosis and sustaining a fracture,” she adds.
Osteoporosis is one of several risk factors for bone fractures that occur following little or no trauma, with minimal trauma fracture of the hip being one of the most serious possible outcomes of osteoporosis.
Although the rate of minimal trauma hip fracture for people aged 50 and over has dropped over the past 10 years, the number of hip fractures continues to rise due to the increasing number of older adults in Australia.
