Millions of osteoporosis cases undiagnosed

STANFORD, Calif., July 27 (UPI) -- Millions of Americans with osteoporosis go undiagnosed and untreated, learning of their condition only after suffering from a fracture, U.S. researchers said.

Stanford University researchers found fewer than half of osteoporosis patients are diagnosed with the disease, in which bones become fragile and prone to break.

The researchers said about 10 million Americans have osteoporosis and 34 million more are at risk, but their weak bones often go unnoticed until they fracture, most frequently in the hip, spine or wrist.

"The gravity of fractures is often under-appreciated when in fact patients with hip fractures go on to have deterioration in their health linked directly to their fractures, with a high probability of death or nursing home placement," said researcher Randall Stafford.

Stafford also cautioned that fewer osteoporosis patients are taking calcium supplements since they started using new anti-osteoporosis drugs, but the drugs were tested on people taking supplements and may not work as well without them.