The US Department of Health and Human Services released data this month showing a dramatic rise in the hospitalization rate of patients admitted for treatment of hip, pelvis and other fractures associated with osteoporosis. Between 1995 and 2006 this rate has increased by 55 percent. In 2006 alone roughly 1 million people were hospitalized for osteoporosis and one-fourth of them had fractures. This accounted for $2.4 billion in hospital spending that year. Since Americans are living longer, the number of us with osteoporosis will surely increase (currently 10 million Americans suffer from the disease). In order to reduce your risk of osteoporosis, not to mention the health care dollars spent on this potentially preventable disease, learn more about it and speak to your healthcare provider. [via AHRQ]
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Dr. Steven Chang, the author of DailyDose, is a staff physician with Kosmix RightHealth. Dr. Chang practices Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Medical Center, where his medical interests include both pediatric and geriatric care, public health, gay and lesbian health, and sleep medicine. Dr. Chang trained at the Stanford University affiliated O'Connor Hospital, and was a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. He holds an M.D. from McGill University and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.
August 6th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Let’s see…..People are living longer so more people will get osteoporosis which will mean more fractures and hospitalizations, which will mean more health care costs. Got it. But here’s what I don’t get. Medicar will only pay for s screening(dexa scan) once every 24 months. Would it not make more sense to allow bone scans YEARLY,BEFORE fractures occur? If my math proves correct, a bone scan would be a hell of a lot costly than treating a fracture in a hospital and then rehab. Helo… how dumb can these insurance decision makers get?
August 6th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Sorry about the misspelled word – Medicare. Also the extra s before the word, sreening. It’s not easy to type when your cat is laying on the computer desk and the keyboard is on your chest (lol), He does this everytime.
August 6th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Ooops…. got to take a nap. A bone scan would be a lot LESS costly. If there are anymore mistakes, deal with it! heehee
August 6th, 2009 at 7:00 pm
http://liujiaoourhealth.blogspot.com
August 6th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
My understanding is that Osteoporosis is even more prevalent among the Asian population. Apparently, this is because of Calcuim deficiency in the Asian diet pattern.
August 7th, 2009 at 5:07 am
You are right that prevention is better than acting after the fact, but unforunately bone scans don’t prevent fractures. Also some cultures where people have lower bone density than Americans have almost no osteoporosis – like some Asian cultures where they follow healthier lifestyles. Yes they eat less calcium in Japan, but they also eat less animal meat, more vegetables, less processed food, less sugar, etc… all these things make their bones stronger, not weaker, than ours. Read the book Better Bones, Better Body – it was really interseting if you’re worried about osteoporosis. I think she has a website too.
August 11th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
I have had osteoporosis for years. The pain gets worse each year But I was told in 93 I would be in surgery and/or a wheelchair by the end of the year.
So I went for a 3000 mile walk pitching my small tent in a different place each night. It is now many years later and I am still on my feet. Although I do get fractures. I do not go to the hospital. I rest, read and do some of my outdoor camping chores, which include building a mud hut by myself.
I will be 70 in September. My daughter has come to visit me and went “WOW! MOM. You are my hero.”
My reply was Me? “Sure. Why not.”
Yes I replied. I think I am now my own hero.