Looking back: developments in our understanding of the occurrence, aetiology and prognosis of osteoporosis over the last 50 years.

This paper summarizes the contribution of the Arthritis Research Campaign Epidemiology Unit, in particular in its role as coordinator of the European Vertebral Osteoporosis Study, to our current understanding of osteoporosis. One in three postmenopausal women has osteoporosis in the UK. The cost to the NHS is around pound 1.7 billion per year. With the ageing population this is destined to rise.