Trends and Disparities in Self-Reported and Measured Osteoporosis among US Adults, 2007–2014

(1) Background: Studies examining osteoporosis trends among US adults by different socioeconomic status (SES) are limited. The prevalence of self-reported osteoporosis in the US is rarely reported. (2) Methods: Data from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES) between 2007-2008 and 2013-2014 cycles were analyzed. Age-adjusted prevalence of self-reported and that of measured osteoporosis were calculated overall and by sex, race/ethnicity, education attainment, and SES. (3) Results: The prevalence of self-reported osteoporosis was higher than that of measured osteoporosis in all three survey cycles for women, and in 2007-2008 and 2009-2010 for men. Participants with high school/GED or higher educational attainment had an increased prevalence of measured osteoporosis during the study period. Among all SES groups, participants with low family income (PIR < 1.3) had the highest prevalence of measured osteoporosis, and the prevalence increased from 49.3 per 1000 population to 71.8 per 1000 population during the study period. (4) Conclusions: The prevalence of self-reported osteoporosis was higher than that of measured osteoporosis in US adults between 2007 and 2014. The age-adjusted prevalence of measured osteoporosis increased in participants with the educational attainment of high school/GED or above, and individuals with low family income.