The silent thief: osteoporosis and women's health care across the life span

Abstract

Osteoporosis is a skeletal disease characterized by loss of bone mass and density, which results in an increased risk of fractures. The disease is referred to as the "silent thief," because it is often not until a person falls and breaks a bone that patients and their physicians become aware of weakening bones. An estimated 1.5 million bone fractures occur each year in the United States and cost nearly dollar 17 billion in health care costs and lost productivity. The perception that osteoporosis is an older person's disease is an erroneous one. Osteoporosis does not discriminate by age; in fact, it is a geriatric disease with an adolescent onset. Social workers in health care and other practice settings working with female clients across the life span are in prime positions to influence patient outcomes and reduce health care costs by raising awareness of the risk factors and complex biopsychosocial aspects of this debilitating disease. This article presents social work interventions within the conceptual framework of primary, secondary, and tertiary disease prevention.