Can osteoporosis be fatal?

Can osteoporosis be fatal?

Frederick Singer (Director of the Endocrine/Bone Disease Program, John Wayne Cancer Institute ) gives expert video advice on: Can osteoporosis affect my sex life? and more...

Osteoporosis is not a fatal disorder. However, if you have a fracture and you're fairly old, the death rate over the next year or so increases, and perhaps surprisingly, more in men than in women. The reason for this is really not very clear, but we presume there is great stress because of a fracture. Many people end up in nursing homes, and this is very debilitating to the psyche. Perhaps the chronic stress and change from someone living on the outside, to someone having to be confined in a retirement or a nursing home is a terrible stress.