World Osteoporosis Day digital media kit
EMBARGOED: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2021
MEDIA ALERT
EMBARGOED: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2021
Experts urging Aussies to “Know Your Bones”
this World Osteoporosis Day
New AUS report reveals alarming under-investigation
& under-treatment of those at risk
To mark World Osteoporosis Day this Wednesday, October 20, experts will be urging Australians to “Know Your Bones”, and doctors to earlier investigate and treat all adults with risk factors for poor bone health, and following fracture.
Their call will coincide with the release of a community risk report revealing:
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Only one in two Australian adults who have broken a bone reported having a bone mineral density test (BMD)1 to investigate their bone health for the risk of fracture, and presence of osteoporosis; and
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Concerningly, of those who reported breaking a bone, the vast majority (86 per cent) are not taking preventative osteoporosis medication.1
The new report summarises data from more than 88,000 Australians who have completed Healthy Bones Australia’s Know Your Bones online self-assessment to date, which explains a person’s potential risk for developing osteoporosis, and bone breaks.1
“Given more than six million Australians aged 50+ are living with poor bone health,2 we will be encouraging adults to get to ‘know your bones’, by completing our online self-assessment, to help curb the more than 183,000 fractures anticipated by 2022,”2 said Healthy Bones Australia Medical Director, and Senior Staff Specialist Rheumatologist at Westmead Hospital, Associate Professor Peter Wong, Sydney.
To learn more about Healthy Bones Australia’s new report, and the importance of understanding the risk factors for poor bone health, tee up an interview with a spokesperson below.
HEALTHY BONES AUSTRALIA EXPERTS
A/Prof Peter Wong
Dr Weiwen Chen
Greg Lyubomirsky
Prof Peter Ebeling AO
Medical Director, Healthy Bones Australia & Senior Staff Specialist Rheumatologist, Westmead Hospital, SYDNEY
Specialist Endocrinologist & Deputy Chair, Medical & Scientific Advisory Committee,
Healthy Bones Australia, SYDNEY
CEO, Osteoporosis Australia, SYDNEY
Chair, Healthy Bones Australia & Board member, International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF), MELBOURNE
AUSTRALIANS LIVING WITH OSTEOPOROSIS
Marilyn, 66
Elaine, 57
Renee, 41
Kimberley, 41
Graphic designer & classic car enthusiast diagnosed with osteoporosis after falling & fracturing her arm last year, SYDNEY
Mum, grandmother & GP Practice Manager living with severe osteoporosis, MELBOURNE
Cancer survivor who sustained broken bones & was diagnosed with osteoporosis, Geelong, VICTORIA
Wife & mother-to-two who was diagnosed with osteoporosis after the birth of her second child, BRISBANE
INTERVIEWS
Kirsten Bruce & Sophie Mizzi
VIVA! Communications
T 0401 717 566 | 0421 009 258
References
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Healthy Bones Australia, Know Your Bones Community Risk Report - Second Edition 2021.
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Watts, J., Ambimanyi-Ochom, J, & Sander K, Osteoporosis costing all Australians: A new burden of disease analysis 2012-2022. 2013, Osteoporosis Australia.