That Health Rules

This weekend I attended a well organized meeting and a certification course in Osteoporosis in Singapore.  So I thought of sharing with you some new information about this condition.

Why do we worry about fractures due to osteoporosis? 

Osteoporosis is a state where your bones are thin because of poor calcium intake, an effect of menopause and aging resulting in a decrease bone strength that can lead to increase risk to fracture at low trauma.

Those at risk to this state includes: thin built, postmenopausal, a family history of osteoporosis ( look at your mom- check if she is hunched back already) especially above the age of 60 plus a previous history of fracture…  If you have any of the above, then be careful and be aware because complications arising from this disease can be prevented.

The National Osteoporosis Foundation has the following facts:

• The rate of hip fractures is two to three times higher in women than men

• The one year mortality following a hip fracture is nearly twice as high  for men as for women.  It is estimated that 10-20% die within 6 months after a hip fracture!

• A woman’s risk of hip fracture is equal to her combined risk of breast, uterine and ovarian cancer.

• An average of 24 percent of hip fracture patients aged 50 and over die in the year following their fracture.

• One in five of those who were ambulatory before their hip fracture requires long-term care afterward.

• At six months after a hip fracture, only 15 percent of hip fracture patients can walk across a room unaided.

• 1 in 5 will end up in nursing homes for chronic care!

BUT remember… not just hip fractures, but also the more prevalent vertebral fractures are also linked with an increased risk of death… a progressine increase in excess mortality in the next 5 years.  And a previous fracture predicts ones risk to further fractures.  Therefore addressing a fracture as a disease rather than as a consequence of aging is of paramount importance to prevent complications and death!

We are so aware of the risk to die due to breast cancer but take note: ones lifetime risk to die with an osteoporotic fracture is similar to that of having a breast cancer! 

The GOOD NEWS is: we have ways to help! The meeting emphasized the availability now of drugs that not only help prevent further bone loss due to aging but to those with spinal deformities already and have lost height… we now have the availability of durgs to prevent further bone loss but more importantly we now have a product called Teriperatide that also can BUILD bone!

Maintain Your Bone Health For Long Life!

Read My Other Related Posts:

• The Danger of Drinking Too Much Cola

• The Benefits of Drinking Milk

• Osteoporosis: The Silent Killer

This entry was posted on April 3, 2007 at 9:10 am and is filed under Health Facts on Osteoporosis, Medical News Bits.