Cathy O'Toole (Herbert, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I second the motion. Osteoporosis is a growing issue for many Australians. Osteoporosis causes bones to become weak and fragile, so that they break easily. This can happen as a result of a minor fall, bump, sneeze or sudden movement. Fractures caused by osteoporosis can be life threatening and they are a major cause of pain and long-term disability. Fractures due to osteoporosis have a devastating impact on millions of people worldwide and result in enormous socioeconomic costs to society and healthcare systems. Worldwide, one in three women and one in five men aged 50 years and over will suffer an osteoporotic fracture. Every year in Australia around 165,000 fractures occur, many of which could have been prevented with earlier diagnosis and treatment.

But the problem is far greater for the population than those who have experienced a fracture. More than 4.7 million Australians over 50 years of age have poor bone health. In 2012, Osteoporosis Australia released individual state reports identifying the burden that osteoporosis and fractures will have and are projected to have from 2012 to 2022. The statistics for Queensland are incredibly concerning. The facts for poor bone health in Queensland between 2012 and 2022 are that by 2022 it is estimated there will be 1.27 million older Queenslanders with low bone mass, an increase of 39 per cent from 2012. Millions of adults in Queensland aged 50 years and older—66 per cent, in fact—had osteoporosis or osteopenia, poor bone health, in 2017. In Queensland, 910,000 adults aged 50 years and older, or 66 per cent, had osteoporosis or osteopenia in 2012. Among Queenslanders aged 50 years and older, 14 per cent had osteoporosis and 52 per cent had osteopenia. Among Queenslanders aged 70 years and older, 43 per cent of women and 13 per cent of men had osteoporosis—that is, 92,000 women and 23,000 men.

The fracture impact in Queensland from 2012 to 2022 results in the total number of fractures over the 10-year period—2013 to 2022—to be projected at 329,071. In 2022, it is expected that there will be a 46 per cent increase in the annual number of fractures over 10 years, resulting in 38,800 fractures per annum. In 2022, there will be 106 fractures every day amongst older Australians in Queensland. Approximately one in six of these fractures will be a hip fracture. In 2017, there were 88 fractures each day among older adults in Queensland. This is a serious cost that needs to be a concern for governments because between 2012 and 2022 the total direct cost of fractures over the 10 years—2013 to 2022—will be $4.3 billion. These costs include ambulance services, hospitalisations, emergency and outpatient departments, rehabilitation, limited aged care and community services.

In 2017, the total direct cost of osteoporosis and osteopenia in Queensland adults aged over 50 years was more than $611 million, of which $414 million—68 per cent—relates to the treatment of fractures. In 2012, the total direct cost of osteoporosis and osteopenia in Queensland adults aged 50 years and over was $495 million, of which $335 million—68 per cent—relates to the treatment of fractures. Nationally last year, the cost of fractures associated with osteoporosis amounted to $2.1 billion. This clearly identifies the fact that the projections for 2022 are well and truly on track.

But early action can be taken through regular exercise, a bone-healthy diet and consultation with a doctor about osteoporosis risk factors, with diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis halving the fracture risk. On 20 October, it will be World Osteoporosis Day. I urge people in the Herbert electorate to take at least one preventative measure—that is, exercise, see your doctor, drink a glass of milk—and together let's work to prevent osteoporosis.

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