Healthtips

As a family practice doctor with specialized training in sports medicine and injuries, I am familiar with every aspect of osteoporosis, from encouraging my women patients to take preventive measures to avoid the disease, to treating those who have suffered broken bones resulting from the severity of their condition. One of the most insidious aspects of this widespread epidemic is the fact that most people do not consider osteoporosis to be life-threatening. However, the statistics prove otherwise. Every year 1.5 million women suffer from osteoporosis-related fractures. Three hundred thousand of these are hip fractures, from which 75,000 die. This is three times the number of women who die annually from breast cancer. However, it is estimated that only 3-5% of those hip fractures were diagnosed or the patients treated for osteoporosis. In other words, most people are not aware that they have this “silent disease” until a fracture has occurred. Osteoporosis is a major public health threat for more than 28 million Americans, 80% of whom are women. In the U.S. today, 10 million individuals already have the disease and 18 million more have low bone mass, placing them at increased risk for osteoporosis. One in two white women and one in eight white men over age 50 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in their lifetime. 10% of African American women over age 50 have osteoporosis, and an additional 30% have low bone density that puts them at risk of developing osteoporosis. Though osteoporosis is often thought of as an older person’s disease, it can strike at any age.

Heredity may play a role in determining risk, but it is difficult to pinpoint genetic factors contributing to the development of this disease. A lifetime history of a diet with too little calcium is a major risk factor, as is the excessive intake of caffeinated beverages such as coffee, tea or soft drinks which can leech calcium from the bones. Other risks include being very underweight or regularly missing periods. Low estrogen levels and steroid use can also contribute to the development of osteoporosis.

Specialized tests called bone density tests using either with ultrasound or by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) can measure bone density in various sites of the body. A bone density test can detect osteoporosis before a fractures occurs, predict your chances of fracturing in the future, and determine your rate of bone loss and/or monitor the effects of treatment if the test is conducted at intervals of a year or more.

By about age 20, the average woman has acquired 98% of her skeletal mass. Building strong bone during childhood and adolescence can be the best defense against developing osteoporosis later. There are several lifestyle changes that I recommend my patients adopt if they are at risk for osteoporosis. Increasing calcium intake to 1000 milligrams daily is a good start, as is getting adequate amounts of Vitamin D and increasing exposure to sunlight. Engaging in weight bearing exercises such as walking can help fight osteoporosis, but early diagnosis is by far the most powerful weapon in stopping the dangerous progression of this disease.

Although there is no cure for osteoporosis, there are four medications, including estrogens that are approved by the FDA for postmenopausal women to either prevent and/or treat osteoporosis. There are also several treatments that are currently under investigation.