The Epidemiology of Osteoporosis: The Asian Scene in a World Perspective

摘要

Osteoporosis is a disorder of aging. Due to agign of the world population, the number of hip fracture worldwide will increase from 1.7 million in 1990 to 6.3 million in 2050. Half of these fractures will occur in Asia. Increase in incidence rates will increase future fracture still further. Indeed, dramatic increases in incidence have been seen in most areas of the world, including the USA and Asia. For instance, a survey conducted in Hong Kong in 1985 by the authors showed that the incidence of hip fracture had more than doubled from 1966 to 1985 in elderly men and women. A subsequent territory-wide survey conducted in Hong Kong confirmed such as increase in the incidence of hip fracture, but the rates have remained stable from 1985 to 1996. The incidence of hip fracture is around 8/1000 in women and 4/1000 in men who are 70 years and over in 1996 in Hong Kong.