Osteoporosis prevalence at femur neck, lumbar spine 12.3 percent

(HealthDay)—The age-adjusted prevalence of osteoporosis at either the femur neck or lumbar spine or both was 12.6 percent among adults aged 50 years and older in 2017 to 2018, according to a March data brief published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics.

Neda Sarafrazi, Ph.D., from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, and colleagues estimated the prevalence of osteoporosis and low bone mass among adults aged 50 years and older in the United States in 2017 to 2018 using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

The researchers found that among adults aged 50 years and older, the age-adjusted prevalence of osteoporosis at either the femur neck or lumbar spine or both was 12.6 percent in 2017 to 2018 and was higher among women than men (19.6 versus 4.4 percent). Among adults aged 50 years or older, the prevalence of low bone mass at either the femur neck or lumbar spine or both was 43.1 percent and was higher among women than men (51.5 versus 33.5 percent). From 2007-2008 to 2017-2018, the prevalence of osteoporosis increased among women, but not men. The prevalence of low bone mass did not change between 2007-2008 and 2017-2018 for either women or men.

"In the United States, the prevalence of osteoporosis among adults aged 50 and over at the femur neck only was 6.3 percent and has not met the 2020 goal [≤5.3 percent]," the authors write.

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