Assessing the true impact of recurrent fractures on fracture risk.

摘要

Fractures continue to be an important public health problem. A total of ~9 million osteoporotic fractures were reported worldwide in 2000, with -20% of these being hip fractures. The importance of these fractures is shown by their association with increased mortality, decreased quality of life, and substantial direct and indirect costs to the health care systems of many countries.