Osteoporosis By the Numbers

Osteoporosis is a misunderstood condition that is often described as a “silent disease” because people with osteoporosis can’t necessarily feel their bones becoming weak and brittle.¹ This chronic bone disease occurs when the body loses too much bone, makes too little bone, or both.^1,2

May is National Osteoporosis Month and Amgen is aiming to help raise awareness of osteoporosis and bone fractures by sharing important facts about osteoporosis; and the statistics are alarming – osteoporosis is responsible for approximately 1.5 million people in the U.S. suffering a fracture and $19 billion in related costs every year.^3.4

Here is more information on osteoporosis by the numbers:

• Every 3 seconds, someone in the world breaks a bone because of osteoporosis.⁵
• In the U.S., 1 in 2 women over the age of 50 will have an osteoporosis-related bone break in her lifetime.⁶
• The annual number of fractures due to osteoporosis is projected to increase from 1.9 million to 3.2 million – or 68 percent – from 2018 to 2040.⁷
• Osteoporosis-related fractures account for 432,000 hospital admissions and 180,000 nursing home admissions.⁸
• Fewer than 20 percent of women receive treatment for osteoporosis – even after breaking a bone.⁹
• Amgen has been developing and bringing new osteoporosis treatments to market for the past 20 years, but unfortunately, osteoporosis treatment is oftentimes not a priority for doctors or patients.^10,11
• A standard osteoporosis test, called dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA scan), can diagnose osteoporosis before a fracture occurs, but the number of physicians in the U.S. offering this test has fallen by 26 percent since 2008.¹²
• Increasing DXA screening could have substantial benefits that include preventing 3.8 million fractures.⁷

To help combat the impact of osteoporosis on patients, their caregivers and the healthcare system, this year, Amgen is proud to support the Bone Health & Osteoporosis Foundation in their “Exercise to Maximize Bone Health” campaign. The organization’s efforts around National Osteoporosis Month align with Amgen’s focus on raising awareness and encouraging women to take action in support of their bone health.

This month, Bone Health & Osteoporosis Foundation will share bone-healthy activities and information, such as webinars, to encourage education, awareness and movement.

Keep osteoporosis top of mind this month, and all year by following our Twitter and Instagram channels and learn more about what you can do to better understand your bone health and share with the women in your lives.

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References

1. National Osteoporosis Foundation. What is Osteoporosis and What Causes It? https://www.nof.org/patients/what-is-osteoporosis/. Accessed April 25, 2022.
2. Abrahamsen, B., Osmond, C., & Cooper, C. (2015). Journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, 30(9), 1553–1559. https://doi.org/10.1002/jbmr.2478
3. Office of the Surgeon General (US). Bone Health and Osteoporosis: A Report of the Surgeon General. Office of the Surgeon General 2004. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK45515/
4. Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation. Osteoporosis is Serious https://www.bonehealthandosteoporosis.org/patients/what-is-osteoporosis. Accessed May 4, 2022
5. IOF. Facts and Statistics. Available at: https://www.iofbonehealth.org/facts-statistics. Accessed April 29, 2019.
6. NOF. Osteoporosis Fast Facts. Available at: https://cdn.nof.org/wpcontent/uploads/2015/12/Osteoporosis-Fast-Facts.pdf.
7. Lewiecki EM, Ortendahl JD, Orgle-Vanderpuye J, Grauer A, Arellano J, et al. Healthcare Policy Changes in Osteoporosis Can Improve Outcomes and Reduce Costs.JBMR. 2019 Mar 15.
8. Cosman, et al. Clinician's Guide to Prevention and Treatment of Osteoporosis. Osteoporos Int. 2014; 25:2359–2381.
9. Boytsov, N. N., et al. (2017). Patient and Provider Characteristics Associated with Optimal Post-Fracture Osteoporosis Management. American Journal of Medical Quality, 32(6), 644–654.
10. Amgen. (April 9, 2019). FDA Approves EVENITY™ (romosozumab-aqqg) For the Treatment of Osteoporosis in Postmenopausal Women at High Risk for Fracture. Retrieved from https://www.amgen.com/newsroom/press-releases/2019/04/fda-approves-evenity-romosozumabaqqg-for-the-treatment-of-osteoporosis-in-postmenopausal-women-at-high-risk-for-fracture#.
11. Salminen H, Piispanen P, Toth-Pal E. Arch Osteoporos. 2019;14(1):48.
12. Peter M. Stevens, PhD. Direct Research LLC, Medicare PSPS Master Files and Medicare 5% LDS SAF. Cost model and projections. http://www.bonehealthandosteoporosis.org/wp-content/uploads/DXA-Testing-State-slides-6-19-18.pdf. Accessed May 4, 2022.