Sacramento, CA – Governor Gray Davis signed Assembly Concurrent Resolution 82 proclaiming May 2003 as Osteoporosis Awareness Month. The resolution is aimed at raising awareness of osteoporosis and the vast number of women affected by it. Three out of four women in the US over age 65 have osteoporosis or low bone mass.

The author of the resolution, Assemblywoman Sally Lieber (D-San Jose), was pleased with the Governor’s signature. “Over three million California residents have osteoporosis or low bone mass,” Lieber said; “over 100,000 fractures per year are costing our state over $1.2 billion every 12 months. We need to be more attentive to the health needs of women,” she added.

More than 80 percent of people affected by osteoporosis are women. Many mature women do not discover they have osteoporosis until they suffer a fracture. Yet screening procedures could be helping many of those affected long before they are suffering the consequences of this “silent disease.” Osteoporosis is preventable and treatable when diagnosed through screening procedures.

Lieber and Assemblywoman Jenny Oropeza (D-Long Beach) also hosted a day of osteoporosis screening in the State Capitol earlier this month. Over 100 women were tested, including many legislators. The Foundation for Osteoporosis and Education (FORE) provided the screening services.

Female legislators are demanding greater attention to health issues facing women, according to Lieber. “Thirty percent of California’s state legislators are women,” Lieber said. “We need to focus on women’s health issues now that we are here,” she stated.