Osteoporosis will never be a disease of the past.

There is a definite hope to considerably reduce the number of osteoporotic fractures in the future. However, there are several reasons to assume that osteoporosis as a disease will remain a problem in the future: (1) the population is aging, and many people will live long enough to develop a bone mineral density lower than the fracture threshold; (2) the secular trend shows that more handicapped people reach the 'fracture age'; (3) osteoporosis may develop in spite of adequate treatment; (4) prophylaxis with HRT is limited by lower compliance at older age. Efficient treatment strategies should therefore be developed for osteoporosis with fractures also in the future.