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Osteoporosis
General Practitioner, The Ridgeway Surgery, Worcestershire
E-mail: bleeprldavies{at}hotmail.com
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Abstract |
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Osteoporosis occurs mostly in postmenopausal women and patients taking long-term corticosteroids. In women, the lifetime risk is 40% and men have a much lower but still significant risk of 13%. The survival rates after hip fracture vary with the patient's age, for women between the ages of 65–69 years 1-year survival is 11%, while for men over 90 the figure is 67%. Hip fractures and other osteoporotic fractures can have an enormous impact on a patient's mobility and quality of life, leading to increase use of social care services and informal carers. The cost of osteoporosis and fractures is immense, this cost not only relates to the initial hospital care but also ongoing social care costs. Each admission from fractured hip can cost the NHS over £8,000. The main aim of treatment is to prevent fractures and to reduce the both morbidity and mortality.