CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS Regardless of age, there appears to be a relatively high degree of complacency about osteoporosis that is present to a significant degree among women 45 and older.

• Among those not diagnosed by a doctor as having osteoporosis, relatively few, regardless of their age, believe they are at risk (15% saying it definitely/probably will occur); those under 65 are more likely to say it might or might not happen than those 65 and older, while a majority of those 65 and older say they don’t believe they are at risk.

• Yet, the majority of women 45 and older, regardless of their age, have at least two risk factors for osteoporosis; nearly 6 in 10 women 45 to 54 are at risk versus 65% of those 55 to 64 and 70% of those 65 and older

• Within the context of all health concerns they may have, the relative ‘positioning’ of bone loss is fairly low and does not increase significantly by age despite women under 65 expressing more concern about it than those 65 and older

• Almost all are saying they are taking steps to keep their bones healthy

• Although they are more likely to talk to a doctor about bone loss as they age, over half (54%) of those 45 to 54 have not done so and about one-third of those 55 and older have not done so

• When asked why they have not talked to a doctor about bone loss, the more common responses were a lack of concern, that the doctor would bring it up if it is important or another health problem is more important