Ethnicity and Osteoporosis Risk

Ethnicity

People of Caucasian or people of Asian descent are at greater risk than members of other ethnic groups. Regardless of heritage, osteoporosis can happen to anyone.

Significant risk has been reported in people of all ethnic backgrounds.

Twenty percent of non-Hispanic Caucasian and Asian women aged 50 and older are estimated to have osteoporosis, and 52 percent are estimated to have low bone mass.

Seven percent of non-Hispanic Caucasian and Asian men aged 50 and older are estimated to have osteoporosis, and 35 percent are estimated to have low bone mass.

Five percent of non-Hispanic black women over age 50 are estimated to have osteoporosis; an estimated additional 35 percent have low bone mass that puts them at risk of developing osteoporosis.

Four percent of non-Hispanic black men aged 50 and older estimated to have osteoporosis, and 19 percent are estimated to have low bone mass.

Osteoporosis is under recognized and under-treated not only in Caucasian women, but in African-American women as well.

Ten percent of Hispanic women aged 50 and older are estimated to have osteoporosis, and 49 percent are estimated to have low bone mass.

Three percent of Hispanic men aged 50 and older are estimated to have osteoporosis, and 23 percent are estimated to have low bone mass.

When compared with other ethnic/racial groups, risk is increasing most rapidly among Hispanic women.

Experts predict that costs related to osteoporotic fractures among Hispanics will increase from an estimated $754 million in 2005 to $2 billion per year in 2025.