Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month 2024

OSTEOPOROSIS AWARENESS AND PREVENTION MONTH

2024

BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA

A PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS, an estimated 54 million Americans have osteoporosis or low bone mass, and studies suggest that approximately one in two women and up to one in four men ages 50 and older will break a bone due to osteoporosis; and

WHEREAS, approximately 1.8 million Medicare beneficiaries in the U.S. suffer approximately 2.1 million osteoporotic fractures a year, and osteoporosis-related bone fractures are responsible for more hospitalizations than heart attacks, strokes, or breast cancer; and

WHEREAS, the total annual cost for osteoporotic fractures among Medicare beneficiaries was $57 billion in 2018 and is expected to grow to over $95 billion by 2040 without reforms, as the population ages; and

WHEREAS, in North Carolina over 59,000 Medicare beneficiaries suffered over 69,000 osteoporotic fractures in 2016; and

WHEREAS, an estimated 9,000 North Carolinians on Medicare suffered not just an initial fracture but also a subsequent fracture resulting in estimated costs of over $163 million; and

WHEREAS, building strong bones begins in childhood and is essential to the prevention of osteoporosis; while we reach our peak bone mass by early adulthood, care for our bones is important throughout our lives; and

WHEREAS, optimum bone health and prevention of osteoporosis can be maximized by a balanced diet rich in calcium and vitamin D, weight-bearing and muscle-strengthening exercise, and a healthy lifestyle with no smoking or excessive alcohol intake; and

WHEREAS, osteoporosis is often called a silent disease because of the difficulty of self-reporting the feeling of weakening bones, and therefore breaking a bone is often the first sign of osteoporosis; timely bone health screening, diagnosis, and treatment can help prevent fractures leading to hospitalization and nursing home stays; and

WHEREAS, cost effective post-fracture care which improves care coordination has been demonstrated to reduce the number of subsequent or repeat fractures, but it is not yet widely available or properly incentivized by Medicare; and

WHEREAS, it is crucial that we raise awareness about bone health and osteoporosis among the public, health professionals, and policy makers;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, ROY COOPER, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim May, 2024, as “OSTEOPOROSIS AWARENESS AND PREVENTION MONTH” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.

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Roy Cooper

Governor

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at the Capitol in Raleigh this thirtieth day of April in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-four and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.