Proclamation 5344

By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation

Osteoporosis is a condition in which bone mass decreases, causing bones to be more susceptible to fracture. It may develop without warning. A fall, blow, or lifting action that would not strain the average person can easily cause one or more bones to break in a person with severe osteoporosis.

Some 15 to 20 million Americans are afflicted with osteoporosis. The risk of developing the disease increases with age and is higher in women than in men. It is estimated that 25 percent of postmenopausal women in the United States will develop osteoporosis. Among people who live to be age 90, 32 percent of women and 17 percent of men will suffer a hip fracture, mostly due to osteoporosis. More than 50,000 older women and many older men die each year in the United States as a result of such complications. It is estimated that national health costs related to osteoporosis are at least $3.8 billion annually.

As scientific knowledge about the disease continues to grow, there is reason for hope. New research findings and new approaches to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment are being developed. The Federal government and private voluntary organizations have created a strong and enduring partnership committed to research on osteoporosis. Working together, our objective must be to uncover the cause and cure for this major public health problem.

The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 61, has designated the week beginning May 20, 1985, through May 26, 1985, as "National Osteoporosis Awareness Week" and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this event.

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 20, 1985, through May 26, 1985, as National Osteoporosis Awareness Week. I urge the people of the United States and educational, philanthropic, scientific, medical, and health care organizations and professionals to observe this week with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

In Witness Whereof I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and ninth.

RONALD REAGAN

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 10:49 a.m., May 22, 1985]