Osteoporosis (Greek for “porous bone”) is a disease of decreased bone density leading to a predisposition to fractures. Osteoporosis is extremely common, affecting more than 200 million people worldwide. Osteoporosis is defined by having a bone mineral density that is more than 2.5 standard deviations lower than the young adult mean. Osteoporosis most commonly affects the wrist, hips, and vertebrae. Osteoporosis is more common in women, who have an accelerated loss of bone density after menopause due to the decline in estrogen, in addition to normal age-related bone loss. A pre-osteoporosis state, osteopenia, is said to be present when bone...
