Osteoporosis statistics

1.2 million Australians have Osteoporosis

Every 5-6 minutes, someone is admitted to an Australian hospital with an osteoporotic fracture. This is expected to rise to every 3 – 4 minutes by the year 2021, as the population ages and the number of osteoporotic fractures increase.

The Fracture Cascade

About 50% of people with one fracture due to osteoporosis will have another. The risk of future fractures rises with each new fracture, the ‘cascade effect’.

The ‘cascade effect’ means that women who have suffered a fracture in their spine are over 4 times more likely to have another fracture within the next year, compared to women who have never had an osteoporotic fracture.

People who have had two or more osteoporotic fractures are up to 9 times more likely to have another fracture, rising to an 11 times greater risk for people who have had three or more fractures, compared to someone who has not had one.

1 in 2 women and 1 in 3 men over 60 years will have an osteoporotic fracture in Australia.

Osteoporosis Australia – NSW/ACT Report June 2017

Osteoporosis Australia released a series of state and territory reports on 27 June 2017, highlighting the extensive costs of fractures from poor bone health. The reports show the cost impact of osteoporosis and fractures in each state for the population 50 years and over.

Professor Peter Ebeling, Medical Director Osteoporosis Australia says “There is a significant gap in osteoporosis care, and our hospitals are becoming revolving doors for fracture patients being sent home, and returning with new fractures, rather than being properly assessed and treated for osteoporosis.”

Summary – Key Findings

Burden of Osteoporosis, Osteopenia and Associated Fractures in NSW & ACT
Poor Bone Health: 2012-2022
  • By 2022, it is estimated there will be 2.07 million older people in NSW & ACT with low bone mass, an increase of 26% from 2012.
  • 1.9 million people in NSW & ACT aged 50 years and older (70%) have osteoporosis or osteopenia (poor bone health) in 2017.
  • 1.6 million people in NSW & ACT aged 50 years and older (66%), had osteoporosis or osteopenia (poor bone health) in 2012.
  • Among people in NSW & ACT aged 50 years and older, 15% had osteoporosis and 52% have osteopenia.
  • Among people in NSW & ACT aged 70 years and older, 43% of women and 13% of men had osteoporosis (183,000 women and 43,100 men).
Fracture Impact: 2012-2022
  • The total number of fractures over the ten year period 2013 to 2022 is projected to be 569,080.
  • In 2022 it is expected there will be a 29% increase in the annual number of fractures (over 10 years) resulting in 63,685 fractures per annum.
  • In 2022 there will be 174 fractures every day among older people in NSW & ACT. More than one in six of these fractures will be a hip fracture.
  • In 2017 there will be 155 fractures each day among older people in NSW & ACT.
Cost Impact: 2012-2022

The total direct costs of fractures over the ten years 2013 to 2022 will be $7.5 billion (2012$). These costs include ambulance services, hospitalisations and emergency and outpatient departments, rehabilitation, limited aged care and community services.

In 2017 the total costs of osteoporosis and osteopenia in people in NSW & ACT over 50 years of age will be $1.1 billion of which $740 million (67%) relates to the treatment of fractures.

In 2012 the total costs of osteoporosis and osteopenia in people in NSW & ACT over 50 years of age were $938 million of which $635 million (68%) relates to the treatment of fractures.

Source and credit: Osteoporosis Australia