Abstract: | ABSTRACTBackground: Osteoporosis is a major and costly global public health problem. It is a chronic disease in which fracture is the main outcome, and the impact of these fractures can vary depending on the age of the individual and the severity of the fracture.Scope: Using literature review, this paper discusses and summarizes the information available regarding the individual and socio-economic consequences associated with the several types of osteoporotic fractures.Findings: Different types of osteoporotic fractures are generally associated with different age groups. The health-economic impact of vertebral and hip fractures has been extensively explored and it is well known that these fractures are associated with morbidity/disability and increased mortality; they also account for a substantial portion of the direct fracture costs. However, to accurately estimate the individual and socio-economic burden of the disease, further research is needed on the morbidity/disability, mortality, and costs associated with non-hip, nonvertebral fractures, which account for more than half of the total fractures. More data are also required on the indirect costs associated with all fracture types.Conclusions: Understanding the socio-economic consequences of each fracture type will be important to fully estimate the burden of osteoporosis and may help clinicians tailor management plans for individual patients. |