[Osteoporosis: a new social disease?]

Main epidemiological studies about osteoporosis are described: the availability of sophisticated techniques as double photon absorptiometry permits to establish that in U.S.A. there is at least 1.2 million osteoporosis fractures each year, mainly at trabecular level and in postmenopausal women. Moreover the hip fractures induce a significant reduction in life expectancy (between 12% and 20%) with very important social costs. In Italy some recent data documented that the social costs in relation to osteoporosis fractures can be evaluated in 1983 between 80 and 153 milliard liras. Some data about annual bone density decrement in normal population are reported: 0.38%/year in females and 0.22%/year in males. Moreover the theoretical fracture threshold, defined as B.M.D. level 2.5 SD under the mean value founded in young age, was evaluated (0.67 gHA/cm2). Finally in 15% of our patients with more than 65 years almost one vertebral fracture was found.