ABSTRACT
Osteoporosis is an extremely common disease, expected to increase to a prevalence of approximately 200 million individuals worldwide. In the United States alone, it has been estimated that about 54 million men and women have osteoporosis, or its precursor, osteopenia. Osteoporosis is characterized by decreasing bone mass and diminishing microarchitecture, resulting in increased bone fragility and fractures. This disease poses a major social problem due to high rates of morbidity and mortality following fractures. Hip fractures in elderly patients carry an extremely high mortality rate of approximately 10% at 1 month and 30% at 1 year. The mortality impact is greater for men than women, and in older patients (1). After a hip fracture, many older individuals fail to fully recover. It has been reported that among hip fracture patients who were independent in self-care prior to their fractures, 20%–60% will need assistance with daily activities for 1 and 2 years after fracture due to functional disability (2).
