Over 11 percent Chinese above the age of twenty suffer from osteoporosis, according to a survey done by Chinese researchers.

The survey, the largest on osteoporosis in Asia by now, said 11.5 percent of Chinese over 20 years old suffer from osteoporosis. The rate of incident is 4.3 percent among males and 18.7 percent among females.

The survey, conducted by a group of researchers headed by Zhu Hanmin, has investigated 7,000 Chinese of Han nationality, China's main ethnic group, in nine Chinese provinces.

Zhu, a professor with the Shanghai Huadong University, said "the survey is helpful to formulate measures to prevent osteoporosis in China and rationally distribute medical resources to cure osteoporotic."

Zhu said "we calculated there are about 35 million to 40 million osteoporotic patients nationwide based the survey."

He said "people, especially over middle ages, should have regular health check-up and osteoporotic patients should consult doctors timely."

"Among the urban residents surveyed, only 60 percent are aware that they suffer from osteoporosis, and among those who know they have the disease, only 18 percent consult doctors," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency October 21, 2007)