Osteoporosis is a disease of bone in which the amount of bone is decreased and the
strength of trabecular bone is reduced, cortical bone becomes thin and bones are
susceptible to fracture.
It is defined according to the bone mineral density (BMD) as measured by DEXA: a BMD
of 2.5 standard deviations below the peak bone mass (20 year old person standard) is
considered osteoporosis. While treatment modalities are becoming available,
prevention is still the most important way to reduce fracture.
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