North America
United States of America
It is estimated that by 2020 half of all Americans over the age of 50 will have weak bones, partly due to changes in population demographics and partly due to diet and lifestyle. In addition, the medical expense of treating osteoporosis, of caring for osteoporosis patients means that costs run into the billions. In 2004, for the first time, a comprehensive document was made available which looks at the individuals most affected by osteoporosis and low bone mass and the impact of untreated bone disease. As well as pointing out the potential risk if preventive action is not taken, the report also makes suggestions for improving bone health.
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| Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, USA |
Released in October 2004, the 2004 Surgeon General's Report on Bone Health and Osteoporosis is a comprehensive document, over 400 pages long, which took approximately two years to complete and was prepared by some of the United States' top scientists, doctors and public health experts. Divided into five sections, the Report strives to define bone health and bone disease in terms that the public can understand, reviews the status of the population's bone health in America and documents the magnitude of the problem facing the country. In addition, the report tackles the issue of what can be done to improve bone health-first from the perspective of the individual, then from the perspective of the health care professional, and finally from the perspective of the larger health system. The final section lays out a vision for the future.
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| US Surgeon General, Richard H. Carmona, at the launch of the report in 2004 |
Follow this link to download a PDF of the booklet The 2004 Surgeon General's Report on Bone Health and Osteoporosis: What It Means to You (PDF, 1.14 MB)
The full report can be found on the Surgeon General's website at www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/bonehealth/content.html
A short article written by IOF Board member Professor Ethel Siris for IOF's newsletter Osteoporosis Action, in March 2004, can be downloaded here (PDF, 474 KB)
Visit the website of the National Osteoporosis Foundation, at www.nof.org, for details of this and other policy and advocacy initiatives in the USA.
Canada
Osteoporosis affects 3.4 million Canadians, mainly older adults from all ethnic groups. One in four women and one in eight men over the age of 50 has osteoporosis.
In Canada, the cost of treating osteoporosis and the fractures it causes is approximately $1.3 billion each year due to lengthy stays in hospitals and chronic care facilities. It is estimated that $32.5 billion will be spent over the next 25 years to treat osteoporosis fractures if effective osteoporosis prevention and treatment strategies are not put into action.
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| Fall, Yukon Territory, Canada |
In 2004 Osteoporosis Canada released a white paper, which can be downloaded here: Osteoporosis: Preventing a Fractured Future (currently not available). Using data from the Society's own evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis and management of osteoporosis, together with evidence of a gap of care for osteoporosis in Canada, the policy document recommended priorities for Government action.
One successful outcome following publication of this white paper was that in 2005, a far-reaching osteoporosis strategy was announced in the province of Ontario, supported by an ongoing financial investment by the provincial Government. As a result of the Osteoporosis Strategy, two projects specifically targeted to seniors are proposed: the first, a plan for educating seniors on osteoporosis through increasing their awareness of the modifiable risk factors, symptoms of osteoporosis and the various treatment options which are currently available. The second project is the development of a prevention programme specifically designed for seniors. Although this is specifically an Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-term Care initiative, the strategy provides a model that could be adopted by other provinces in Canada.
Further information regarding the Ontario Initiative can found at: www.osteoporosis.ca/english/Breakthrough/background/default.asp?s=1
