Epidemiology of osteoporosis in Taiwan

Osteoporosis is common in Chinese men and women living in Taiwan. Although the incidence of hip fracture seems to be lower in this region, the prevalence of vertebral fractures is high and similar in Taiwan to the rates in northern Europe or North America. Taiwanese have relatively low calcium intake, but the vitamin D stores seems to be generally adequate. In this region, elevated bone turnover markers are shown to be associated with lower BMD values in men and postmenopausal women. Vitamin D receptor gene and estrogen receptor gene polymorphisms were not found to be related to BMD or bone marker values. Because a larger proportion of population will be affected by osteoporosis as the population ages, Taiwanese need some sensitive and specific means to guide the effective control program for osteoporotic fractures. Although the mechanism of rapid turnover in certain individuals is not yet clear, bone markers and BMD may be useful to identify those who are at higher risk and need special attention.