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Title: The recent prevalence of Osteoporosis and low bone mass in the United States based on bone mineral density at the Femoral Neck or Lumbar Spine

Author
item WRIGHT, NICOLE - University Of Alabama
item LOOKER, ANNE - National Center For Health Statistics
item SAAG, KENNETH - University Of Alabama
item CURTIS, JEFFREY - University Of Alabama
item DELZELL, ELIZABETH - University Of Alabama
item RANDALL, SUSAN - International Osteoporosis Foundation
item DAWSON-HUGHES, BESS - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University

Submitted to: Journal of Bone and Mineral Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/9/2014
Publication Date: 4/26/2014
Citation: Wright, N.C., Looker, A.C., Saag, K.G., Curtis, J.R., Delzell, E.S., Randall, S., Dawson-Hughes, B. 2014. The recent prevalence of Osteoporosis and low bone mass in the United States based on bone mineral density at the Femoral Neck or Lumbar Spine. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. DOI:10.1002/jbmr.2269.

Interpretive Summary: The objective of this study was to provide updated prevalence estimates of osteoporosis and low bone mass in non-institutionalized adults age 50 and older in the U.S. The data used in the update were the bone density measurements of participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) together with 2010 Census data. We found that the prevalence of osteoporosis among the 99 million adults age 50 years and older was 10% and the prevalence of low bone mass was 43.6%. Overall, we estimated that 9.9 million adults in the U.S. have osteoporosis and 43.1 million have low bone mass. The estimated number varied by sex and race/ethnicity, with women and non-Hispanic Whites having the largest prevalences. The large number of individuals with osteoporosis and low bone mass underscores the continued importance of addressing bone health in the older population in order to reduce the clinical burden caused by fragility fractures.

Technical Abstract: The goal of our study was to estimate the prevalence of osteoporosis and low bone mass based on bone mineral density (BMD) at the femoral neck and the lumbar spine in adults 50 years and older in the United States (US). We applied prevalence estimates of osteoporosis or low bone mass at the femoral neck or lumbar spine (adjusted by age, sex, and race/ethnicity to the 2010 Census) for the non-institutionalized population age 50 years and older from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005-2008 to 2010 US Census population counts to determine the total number of older US residents with osteoporosis and low bone mass. There were over 99 million adults 50 years and older in the US in 2010. Based on an overall 10% prevalence of osteoporosis, we estimated that in 2010 9.9 million older adults had osteoporosis. The overall low bone mass prevalence was 43.6%, from which we estimated that 43.1 million older adults had low bone mass. We estimated that 7.5 million non-Hispanic White, 0.5 million non-Hispanic Black, and 0.6 million Mexican American adults had osteoporosis and another 33.6, 3.0, and 1.9 million had low bone mass, respectively. When combined, osteoporosis and low bone mass at the femoral neck or lumbar spine affected an estimated 53.1 million older US adults in 2010. Although most of the individuals with osteoporosis or low bone mass were non-Hispanic White women, a substantial number of men and women from other racial/ethnic groups also had osteoporotic BMD or low bone mass.