“…The fractures caused by osteoporosis have a great impact on public health, as they are often associated with increased morbidity, mortality, reduced quality of life, long hospital stays and high economic cost (1). Consequently, cost-effective intervention policies must urgently be identified in an attempt to minimize the impact of fractures (2). Osteoporosis has been associated with various risk factors, particularly female gender (3), advanced age (4), dietary calcium (5), vitamin D status (6), obesity (7), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (8), stress (9), gastric bypass surgery (10,11), genetic variants (12)(13)(14), alcoholism (15) and smoking habit (16).…”