In Brazil number of hip fractures expected to increase 32 percent by 2050

Public release date: 24-May-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: L. Misteli
info@iofbonehealth.org
41-229-940-100
International Osteoporosis Foundation

New IOF report forecasts dramatic rise in osteoporosis-related fractures due to aging of Brazilian population, with costly economic and social repercussions

A new Audit report on fragility fractures, issued today by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF), predicts that Brazil will experience an explosion in the number of fragility fractures due to osteoporosis in the coming decades.

Osteoporosis, a disease which weakens bones and makes them more likely to fracture, is thought to affect around 33% of postmenopausal women in Brazil. Fractures due to osteoporosis mostly affect older adults, with fractures at the spine and hip causing the most suffering, disability and healthcare expenditure.

Currently, about 20% of Brazil's population is 50 years of age or over and 4.3% is aged 70 or over. With average life expectancy projected to rise to 80 years in 2050, it is estimated that the total population will increase to 260 million. Around 37% will then be over 50 years of age, and 14% (around 36 million people) aged 70 years or over.

These projections serve as a dire warning to health authorities as well as to social institutions which care for the aged. In Brazil, around 153 to 343 hip fractures occur among every 100,000 people aged 50 and over. While today there are an estimated 121, 700 annual hip fractures, these numbers are predicted to increase by 16% in 2020, and by 32% in 2050.

Hip fractures are a major cause of suffering, disability, and early death in seniors. Various international studies show that around 20% of hip fracture sufferers will die within the year of fracture, but one study examining patients in various hospitals in Rio de Janeiro showed that as many as 35% died either in hospital or soon after discharge. Surviving hip fracture patients often remain disabled, and lose the inability to live productive and independent lives, thus becoming a burden on family or transferring to institutional care.

Dr. Bruno Muzzi Camargos, President of the Associao Brasileira da Avaliao da Sade ssea e Osteometabolismo (ABrASSO), stated, "Given the future projections, osteoporosis and fragility fractures have become a health issue of immediate concern. We must implement nation-wide measures for early prevention, while ensuring that people at risk and especially people who have already suffered a fracture are appropriately diagnosed and treated to prevent future fractures. This is the only way that we can slow the rising tide of costly fractures. "

The 'Latin America Audit: Epidemiology, Costs, and Burden of Osteoporosis 2012' was prepared by IOF in cooperation with IOF member societies . It includes data from 14 countries throughout Latin America, and reveals the following key findings in Brazil:

• A 2010 study of more than 4,300 women aged 50 and over found that 11.5% had sustained some kind of osteoporotic fracture and that 33% were osteoporotic.
• An estimated 2.9 million Brazilian women over the age of 50 may be living with vertebral fractures, mostly undiagnosed and untreated. Vertebral fractures cause pain and disability, often resulting in a stooped back.
• Vitamin D, made in the skin upon exposure to sunlight, is essential for bone and muscle strength. Yet despite Brazil's sunny climate, vitamin D deficiency is widespread throughout the population. In a recent study 60% of the healthy adolescent participants did not have adequate amounts of vitamin D.
• The cost of treating fractures is enormous and growing. The approximate direct cost of treating a hip fracture in Brazil ranges from 3900 to 12,000 USD in private hospitals, with an average 11 days spent in hospital. This does not include the indirect costs associated with post-fracture care, rehabilitation, loss of productivity and long-term need for nursing assistance.
• As in other countries around the world, there is a widespread problem of under diagnosis and under-treatment, even after fracture. A fragility fracture indicates a high risk of further fractures and should immediately trigger an assessment for osteoporosis. However, one study showed that, of 123 hospitalized hip fracture sufferers, not a single patient was discharged from the hospital with a referral for bone density testing or osteoporosis treatment.
• The urban- rural divide is reflected in both incidence of fractures and in accessibility to diagnosis and treatment. There is a higher incidence of fractures among women living in cities than in rural areas. On the other hand, people living in rural areas often have no access to bone densitometry for diagnostic testing.

On the positive side, Brazil is one of the few Latin American countries which has declared osteoporosis as a national health priority. Professor Christiano Zerbini, IOF Board Member and Director of the Paulista Clinical Research Center in Sao Paulo, commented, "Brazilian researchers and health professionals are working to find answers to the problem of osteoporosis and related musculoskeletal diseases. For example, an important new multicentre prospective study, BRAVOS (Brazilian Vertebral Osteoporosis Study), will gather much-needed epidemiological data from six research centres across the country. We hope this data will lead to the development of a WHO Fracture Risk Assessment model (FRAX) for Brazil a tool to facilitate the identification of people at high risk of fracture. Among other necessary steps, this would be an important achievement in our efforts to reduce the burden of future fractures."

The authors of the Audit report call for more public awareness campaigns, osteoporosis training programmes for doctors, better accessibility to low cost testing and treatment, and more epidemiological research.

IOF President John A. Kanis stated, "IOF joins concerned Brazilian doctors and patient societies to call for the channelling of health care resources towards the prevention and care of age-related musculoskeletal diseases and fragility fractures. This is an important investment in Brazil's future."

###

Information about the Latin American Audit is available in English, Portuguese and Spanish at http://www.osteoporosisinlatinamerica.com

The report can also be downloaded from the IOF website at http://www.iofbonehealth.org/regional-audits

About IOF

The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) is the world's largest nongovernmental organization devoted to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis and related musculoskeletal diseases. IOF members including committees of scientific researchers, patient, medical and research societies, and industry representatives from around the globe - share a common vision of a bone healthy future without fragility fractures. IOF now represents more than 200 societies in all regions of the world. http://www.iofbonehealth.org

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 24-May-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: L. Misteli
info@iofbonehealth.org
41-229-940-100
International Osteoporosis Foundation

New IOF report forecasts dramatic rise in osteoporosis-related fractures due to aging of Brazilian population, with costly economic and social repercussions

A new Audit report on fragility fractures, issued today by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF), predicts that Brazil will experience an explosion in the number of fragility fractures due to osteoporosis in the coming decades.

Osteoporosis, a disease which weakens bones and makes them more likely to fracture, is thought to affect around 33% of postmenopausal women in Brazil. Fractures due to osteoporosis mostly affect older adults, with fractures at the spine and hip causing the most suffering, disability and healthcare expenditure.

Currently, about 20% of Brazil's population is 50 years of age or over and 4.3% is aged 70 or over. With average life expectancy projected to rise to 80 years in 2050, it is estimated that the total population will increase to 260 million. Around 37% will then be over 50 years of age, and 14% (around 36 million people) aged 70 years or over.

These projections serve as a dire warning to health authorities as well as to social institutions which care for the aged. In Brazil, around 153 to 343 hip fractures occur among every 100,000 people aged 50 and over. While today there are an estimated 121, 700 annual hip fractures, these numbers are predicted to increase by 16% in 2020, and by 32% in 2050.

Hip fractures are a major cause of suffering, disability, and early death in seniors. Various international studies show that around 20% of hip fracture sufferers will die within the year of fracture, but one study examining patients in various hospitals in Rio de Janeiro showed that as many as 35% died either in hospital or soon after discharge. Surviving hip fracture patients often remain disabled, and lose the inability to live productive and independent lives, thus becoming a burden on family or transferring to institutional care.

Dr. Bruno Muzzi Camargos, President of the Associao Brasileira da Avaliao da Sade ssea e Osteometabolismo (ABrASSO), stated, "Given the future projections, osteoporosis and fragility fractures have become a health issue of immediate concern. We must implement nation-wide measures for early prevention, while ensuring that people at risk and especially people who have already suffered a fracture are appropriately diagnosed and treated to prevent future fractures. This is the only way that we can slow the rising tide of costly fractures. "

The 'Latin America Audit: Epidemiology, Costs, and Burden of Osteoporosis 2012' was prepared by IOF in cooperation with IOF member societies . It includes data from 14 countries throughout Latin America, and reveals the following key findings in Brazil:

• A 2010 study of more than 4,300 women aged 50 and over found that 11.5% had sustained some kind of osteoporotic fracture and that 33% were osteoporotic.
• An estimated 2.9 million Brazilian women over the age of 50 may be living with vertebral fractures, mostly undiagnosed and untreated. Vertebral fractures cause pain and disability, often resulting in a stooped back.
• Vitamin D, made in the skin upon exposure to sunlight, is essential for bone and muscle strength. Yet despite Brazil's sunny climate, vitamin D deficiency is widespread throughout the population. In a recent study 60% of the healthy adolescent participants did not have adequate amounts of vitamin D.
• The cost of treating fractures is enormous and growing. The approximate direct cost of treating a hip fracture in Brazil ranges from 3900 to 12,000 USD in private hospitals, with an average 11 days spent in hospital. This does not include the indirect costs associated with post-fracture care, rehabilitation, loss of productivity and long-term need for nursing assistance.
• As in other countries around the world, there is a widespread problem of under diagnosis and under-treatment, even after fracture. A fragility fracture indicates a high risk of further fractures and should immediately trigger an assessment for osteoporosis. However, one study showed that, of 123 hospitalized hip fracture sufferers, not a single patient was discharged from the hospital with a referral for bone density testing or osteoporosis treatment.
• The urban- rural divide is reflected in both incidence of fractures and in accessibility to diagnosis and treatment. There is a higher incidence of fractures among women living in cities than in rural areas. On the other hand, people living in rural areas often have no access to bone densitometry for diagnostic testing.

On the positive side, Brazil is one of the few Latin American countries which has declared osteoporosis as a national health priority. Professor Christiano Zerbini, IOF Board Member and Director of the Paulista Clinical Research Center in Sao Paulo, commented, "Brazilian researchers and health professionals are working to find answers to the problem of osteoporosis and related musculoskeletal diseases. For example, an important new multicentre prospective study, BRAVOS (Brazilian Vertebral Osteoporosis Study), will gather much-needed epidemiological data from six research centres across the country. We hope this data will lead to the development of a WHO Fracture Risk Assessment model (FRAX) for Brazil a tool to facilitate the identification of people at high risk of fracture. Among other necessary steps, this would be an important achievement in our efforts to reduce the burden of future fractures."

The authors of the Audit report call for more public awareness campaigns, osteoporosis training programmes for doctors, better accessibility to low cost testing and treatment, and more epidemiological research.

IOF President John A. Kanis stated, "IOF joins concerned Brazilian doctors and patient societies to call for the channelling of health care resources towards the prevention and care of age-related musculoskeletal diseases and fragility fractures. This is an important investment in Brazil's future."

###

Information about the Latin American Audit is available in English, Portuguese and Spanish at http://www.osteoporosisinlatinamerica.com

The report can also be downloaded from the IOF website at http://www.iofbonehealth.org/regional-audits

About IOF

The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) is the world's largest nongovernmental organization devoted to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis and related musculoskeletal diseases. IOF members including committees of scientific researchers, patient, medical and research societies, and industry representatives from around the globe - share a common vision of a bone healthy future without fragility fractures. IOF now represents more than 200 societies in all regions of the world. http://www.iofbonehealth.org

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

hostess brands nh primary david crowder band natalie wood van halen annalynne mccord billy the kid

The First Wireless TV Remote Looked and Worked Like a Sci-Fi Ray Gun [Past Perfect]

As we mourn the passing of Eugene J. Polley, it's worth taking a look back at his seminal invention that changed how we all lounge about watching TV. But when the first commercial wireless remote control appeared way back in 1955, it bared little resemblance to the remotes we use today. More »

charles colson humber raffi torres michael mcdonald jon jones vs rashad evans earth day 2012 jon jones rashad evans

Miami teachers union calls for tax amnesty

[ [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/death-defying-daredevils-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/dh/ap/ap/default/120523/wingwalker.jpg', '500', ' ', 'Reuters', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

[ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

neighborhood watch dennis rodman dodgers sale tami roman jetblue captain los angeles dodgers christie brinkley

Romney Surrogate Accuses Obama Campaign of "Cherry Picking" Bain Record

[ [ [['A picture is worth a thousand words', 5]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/why-facebook-bought-instagram-4-theories-160400376.html', '[Related: Why Facebook bought Instagram: 4 theories]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 9]], 'http://contributor.yahoo.com/join/yahoonews_virginiabeach', '[Did you witness the jet crash? Share your story with Yahoo! News]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Dick Clark', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/dick-clark-dies-at-82-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/c/21/c217c61aa2d5872244c08caa13c16ec5.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'Reuters', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

[ [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

saturday night fever glamping forgetting sarah marshall taraji p. henson irs shuttle discovery biggest loser

Hire reliable search engine optimization services to boosts up your ...

Online marketing has become the most effective and affordable tool to spread information about company?s product and services. Search engine optimization services facilitate higher ranking of your website on all the major search engines. Usually, company employs dedicated and skilled SEO team to provide you successful internet marketing services. Search engine optimization services department comprises of on-page and off-page SEO specialists, who designs strategies to optimize website. ?SEO professionals have wider range of knowledge about online marketing strategies, helps in improvising the website?s ranking on the top. Additionally, architecture and content of the website is optimized along with link building to increase the efficiency of this online marketing campaign.

Website SEO services help in providing immediate end-result and boosts up the website?s ranking within few weeks. Every change is made on the website is as per the client?s requirement and demands, help to grab the potential customers onto site. Moreover, these companies also provide best quality content, adding Meta tags, image optimization and enhance the professional image of the client across the internet. Website SEO service is the strongest marketing tool, help in enhancing revenue generation and invites more business opportunities. It increases the website?s visibility in major search engines. It brings a website to the top search result pages and enhances the chances to bring better business. On page optimization covers optimization of domain name, page URL, page title, Mega tags, and header tag, descriptive and relevant content, URL navigation, anchor text as your contextual links. Professionals also offer link building that indulge user onto site. So, explore your company in international business market with high-tech search engine optimization services.

earl scruggs game of thrones game of thrones season 2 wrestlemania 28 dierks bentley kenny chesney blake shelton

Researchers: 2,000 false convictions in past 23 years

Chris Seward/ The News & Observer (Raleigh), file

Sylvester Smith, center, smiles after he was granted a new trial after two witnesses recanted their testimony in a Brunswick County courtroom in Bolivia, N.C., Nov. 5, 2004. He had wrongfully served 20 years on a sexual assault charge.

By Elizabeth Chuck, msnbc.com

In 1984, two North Carolina girls, age 4 and 6, were molested. They told police their abuser was Sylvester Smith, who was dating the mother of one of the girls, and he went to prison for the crime.?

Twenty years later,?the victims recanted, saying their grandmother told them to blame Smith, and his conviction was overturned.

But the person they say who really molested them -- their cousin, who was nine at the time -- could not be prosecuted because he was under age at the time of the alleged crime.?He is, however,?serving a life sentence for another crime he committed in the meantime: murder.

Smith's case illustrates the fallout from false convictions: He lost roughly 20 years of his life to prison, while the alleged perpetrator was free to commit other crimes.

Smith's discarded conviction?is one of nearly 900 such cases filed?in the National Registry of Exonerations, a database of prisoners exonerated?in the U.S. of serious crimes since 1989, that was made public on Monday. To qualify as an "exoneree," an individual must have been convicted and later relieved of all the legal consequences.

In compiling the database, researchers became aware of more than 1,100 other?cases in which convictions were overturned due to 13 separate police corruption scandals, most of which involved the planting of drugs or guns on innocent defendants. Those exonerations are not included in the registry.?

---

?

ExonerationRegistry.org?is the largest database of its kind ever assembled, according to its creators from the University of Michigan Law School and the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law. Nonetheless, researchers are not able to say what percentage of convictions in the U.S. are false, in part because it can take so long for new evidence to come to light. There are currently about 2.5 million people in prison in the United States.

The earliest cases in the database date back to 1989, when?DNA evidence freed its first two prisoners.

"We can figure that as sort of the modern period in exonerations because DNA was a big game-changer," said?University of Michigan Law Professor Samuel Gross, one of the?registry's creators. "It provided a scientific instrument for reviewing cases and providing a different type of evidence about those cases because the technology didn't exist."

But DNA doesn't actually account for the majority of the exonerations in the database, after?an initial wave in the early 1990s, he said.

"DNA is a fairly narrow-gauged tool. It only fits particular type of crimes," Gross said, noting that?only 37 percent of the people in the database were cleared with the help of DNA evidence.?"In the public mind, exoneration became identified with DNA... Most of these cases -- DNA and non-DNA -- everybody agrees there was a mistake; frequently because the criminal was caught, often because we agree there was no crime at all."

Gross co-authored a report on the database that pulls together statistics on?exonerations from January 1989 through February 2012. While the database is constantly updated and new exonerations are being added all the time, the report focuses on the 873 individuals whose cases had been filed before March.?

Gross and his report co-author, University of Michigan law school graduate Michael Shaffer, discovered correlations in the types of crimes and reasons for wrongful convictions.

• Fabricated crimes. False convictions in child sex abuse cases were usually due to fabricated crimes;?sometimes?a divorced parent told a child to make up lies about?an ex-spouse abusing them, or police or a therapist convinced a child to say something that wasn't true.
• Eyewitness mistakes. In adult rape cases, for example, false convictions were typically based on eyewitness mistakes, "more often than not, mistakes by white victims falsely identifying black defendants," the report said.
• Misconduct by authorities. For homicides, misconduct by authorities was the second-biggest cause of false convictions, just behind?false eyewitness accounts.

Eyewitnesses are crucial to a trial, experts say, and their mistakes, whether intentional or not, can have a huge impact.

"The bulk of the evidence that is presented in trials?in human testimony. Almost all of the time, energy, and effort is spent hearing people's statement in what occurred at a different place and a different time," Dan Simon, a professor of law and psychology at USC, said. "The bottom line is, people are often inaccurate."

Asking an eyewitness to identify a suspect from a lineup demonstrates this.

"There's a nice study that shows slight variations in the way the lineup is conducted can result in swings of accuracy from as low as 14 percent to as high as 86 percent," Simon said.

Thanks to DNA evidence, Robert Dewey, 51, walked out of a Colorado courtroom Monday as a free man. He served 17 years in prison for a rape and murder he did not commit. KUSA-TV's Will Ripley reports.

Confessing to a crime you didn't commit
Another factor in false convictions is what happens in the interrogation room. The report tracks 135 people who falsely confessed to a crime, and went to prison as a result.

"Why would anyone ever admit doing a terrible crime they didn't do?" Gross said. "The first thing to note is the risk false confessions goes up rapidly when the suspects are either juveniles or mentally handicapped or both."

In other cases in the database, a comment made to authorities was misinterpreted as a confession, or police pressure led to the false confession.

How effective are police lineups? Take our test

"Some people are being interrogated at a time of extreme mental anguish and distress," Gross said.?"There was a very depressing case from Lake County, Illinois. He confessed to raping and murdering his young daughter, 8 or 9 years old, and a friend of hers. But consider the circumstances. He was being interrogated by the police, probably for 10 or 20 hours, within a day or two of when his daughter was kidnapped, raped and murdered and then they turned on him."

Exonerees can be found in all parts of the country, but most were concentrated in Illinois, New York, Texas, and California.?

• 93 percent?are men, 7?percent?women;

• Nearly 50 percent?are black, 38 percent?white, 11 percent?Hispanic and 2 percent?Native American or Asian;

• 48 percent had been falsely convicted of homicides, 35 percent of sexual assaults (23 percent adult, 12 percent child), five percent robberies, five percent other violent crimes, and seven percent drug, white-collar and other non-violent crimes.

As a group, they spent more than 10,000 years in prison, an average of more than 11 years each.

Free from bars, but not from stigma
Smith, the man from North Carolina who was accused of molestation, maintained his innocence all along. He was only freed after one of the victims spoke to the other and decided to come forward in 2004.

Chris Seward/ The News & Observer (Raleigh), file

Sylvester Smith's wife Phillis Smith, right, reacts as Judge William Gore announced that Smith would be granted a new trial after two witnesses recanted their testimony in Bolivia, N.C., Nov. 5, 2004.

"They said they were more or less encouraged to accuse Mr. Smith, but it took a number of years and a great passage of time," Smith's lawyer, Roy Trest, said. "Obviously, he was extremely elated after all the years he had spent in prison."

Smith?asked for a pardon from the governor, but was denied.

Now 61 and in poor health, he lives with his wife -- who he was married to but separated from before he went to prison -- in Brunswick County, N.C., and has established a friendship with one of the victims who accused him, his lawyer said.

Not all exonerees who leave prison are able to reintegrate back into society like Smith, despite a court proclaiming them innocent.

"Even if people honestly believe that this person was truly innocent, there is a certain stigma that comes with the mere fact that you were in prison," Simon said.?"You were with bad people, you were antisocial, you had to live in the jungle-like societies you often find in prisons."

Sometimes, families break up when a defendant goes to prison. Finding a job after release can be hard?too.

"Often times, the state is really unhelpful. There is no automatic method to get your criminal record expunged," Simon said. "And they have huge holes in their results, and often times they lack the skills that would help you get a job. Everyone else was studying while you were stuck in a cell."

Simon believes the registry will help reform the justice system because it helps experts analyze the causes of false convictions.?The creators are still adding cases to ExonerationRegistry.org. Gross said he hopes?exonerees will?contact his team?if they had their convictions overturned and don't see their story in the database.?

{"contentId":"11756575","totalVotes":"14241"}

How much confidence do you have in the criminal justice system in the U.S.?

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook

?

national pancake day ohio school shooting sean young arrested matt kenseth bridge to nowhere primary results dale earnhardt jr

US ambassador to Afghanistan 'plans to quit'

[ [ [['A picture is worth a thousand words', 5]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/why-facebook-bought-instagram-4-theories-160400376.html', '[Related: Why Facebook bought Instagram: 4 theories]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 9]], 'http://contributor.yahoo.com/join/yahoonews_virginiabeach', '[Did you witness the jet crash? Share your story with Yahoo! News]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Dick Clark', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/dick-clark-dies-at-82-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/c/21/c217c61aa2d5872244c08caa13c16ec5.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'Reuters', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

[ [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

new world trade center kellen moore guy fieri ryan braun bryce harper may day paulina gretzky