Prevention of fractures in the elderly: A review

Abstract

The NIH consensus conference in 1991 defined osteoporosis as a disease characterized by low bone mass and microarchitectural deterioration of bone tissue, leading to enhanced bone fragility and a consequent increase in fracture risk. Osteoporosis is defined as a disease and the risk factor for the disease is low bone mass and the clinical manifestation is a fragility fracture. This is analogous to hypertension, where cerebral vascular disease is the disease, blood pressure the risk factor and stroke the clinical end-point.