Key facts and statistics for Europe

In Sweden, osteoporotic fractures in men account for more hospital bed days than those due to prostate cancer (22).

Osteoporosis affects an estimated 75 million people in Europe, USA and Japan (1).

Osteoporosis takes a huge personal and economic toll. In Europe, the disability due to osteoporosis is greater than that caused by cancers (with the exception of lung cancer) and is comparable or greater than that lost to a variety of chronic noncommunicable diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, asthma and high blood pressure related heart disease (218).

The highest risk of hip fractures are seen in Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark and the USA (38).

Bone mineral density measurement is underutilized in majority of European countries. Reasons include limited availability of densitometers, restrictions in personnel permitted to perform scans, low awareness of usefulness of BMD testing, limited or nonexistent reimbursement (132).

In 2000, there were an estimated 4 million new fractures, with 8 fractures each minute or one every 8 seconds (218). The number of osteoporotic fractures was estimated at 3.79 million of which 0.89 million were hip fractures. The total direct costs were estimated at €31.7 billion (£21 billion) which were expected to increase to €76.7 billion (£51 billion) in 2050 based on the expected changes in the demography of Europe (133).

It is estimated that in Europe, 179,000 men and 611,000 women will suffer a hip fracture each year and that the cost of all osteoporotic fractures in Europe is provisionally €25 billion (134).

Belgium: The annual costs of osteoporotic fracture are estimated at about €150 million (27).

Denmark: The estimated prevalence of osteoporosis in persons aged 50 years or more is about 41% among women and 18% among men (137).

Denmark: The first hip fracture incidence rate increased by 56% during the period 1987-1997, with an increase of 41% among women and 104% among men aged 50 years and older (187).

Finland: The total number of hip fractures increased by 70% within a 10-year period (1992-2002) (186).

France: Of the 118,839 fractures registered in 2001, 61% were at the hip, 28% at the distal radius and 11% at the proximal humerus (198).

Germany: In 2003, 7.8 million Germans (6.5 million women) were affected by osteoporosis. Of them, 4.3% experienced at least one clinical fracture and only 21.7% were treated with an antiosteoporotic drug. The total direct costs attributable to osteoporosis amounted to €5.4 billion (199).

Germany: A lifetime prevalence of any fracture was found to be 45% for men and 31% for women within the age range of 25-74 years; and 42% for men and 40% for women within the age range of 65-74 years (184).

Germany: The report of the European Commission (1998) estimates an increase in the incidence of hip fractures in Germany from 117,000 in the year 2000 to 240,000 in the year 2040 (199).

Greece: During 1977-1992 there was an average annual increase of 7.6% for hip fractures. In 1992, 70% of the patients were women and approximately 50% of the patients were aged 80 and over (189).

Spain: Approximately 2 million women have osteoporosis and is prevalent in 26.1% of women who are 50 years of age and older (200).

Spain: 25,000 fractures occur each year, resulting in direct costs of more than €126 million and indirect costs of €420 million (201).

Spain: There was a 54% increase in new cases of hip fracture within a 14-year period (1998-2002). This increase occurred mainly in women (64%) compared to men (19%) (188).

Spain: 13% of patients who have suffered a fracture die after 3 months and this figure rises to 38% after 24 months. Furthermore, after experiencing a vertebral fracture, 45% of patients suffer from functional damage and 50% are afflicted by partial or total disability (201).

Sweden: The probability of sustaining an osteoporotic hip fracture at the age of 50 years is 23% in women and 11% in men. The risk of sustaining a clinical vertebral fracture is 15% in women and 8% in men. For any common osteoporotic fracture, the remaining lifetime risk is 46% in women and 22% in men (4).

Sweden: The annual cost of osteoporosis is estimated at SEK 8.5 billion. The total annual fracture cost is about 3.2% of the total healthcare costs in Sweden. Hip, vertebral and wrist fractures accounted for 78%, 17% and 5%, respectively, of the total costs. Community care accounted for 66% of the total annual cost, followed by medical care (31%), informal care (2%) and indirect costs (1%) (185).

Sweden: Hip fractures account for nearly as many hospital days as acute myocardial infarction and for more than prostate and breast cancers combined (136).

Switzerland: Between 2000-2020, osteoporotic hip, vertebral and wrist fracture are predicted to rise by 33%, 27% and 19%, respectively, if current prevention and treatment patterns are maintained (183).

Switzerland: The annual costs of hospitalizations (in terms of duration of stay) for osteoporotic fractures were greater than those for myocardial infarction, stroke and breast cancer, and only slightly lower than for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. For women, the costs associated with osteoporosis were higher than for all these diseases (135).

Switzerland: In 2000, 62,535 hospitalizations for fractures (57% women and 43% men) were registered. 51% of all fractures in women and 24% in men were considered as osteoporotic. The direct medical cost of hospitalization of patients with osteoporosis and/or related fractures was 357 million CHF. Hip fractures accounted for approximately half of these costs. Among other common diseases in women and men, osteoporosis ranked number 1 in women and number 2 (behind COPD) in men (202).

UK: 1 in 2 women and 1 in 5 men will suffer a fracture after the age of 50 (203).

UK: Based on current trends, hip fracture rates may increase from 46,000 in 1985 to 117,000 in 2016 (204).

UK: The cost of treating all osteoporotic fractures in postmenopausal women has been predicted to increase to more than £2 billion by 2020 (205).