Who Definition of Osteoporosis
Who Definition of Osteoporosis
What is osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis is a skeletal disease in which there is a decrease in the density of bone mass, or when the body produces little bone tissue, or when both go through. Thus, the bones become more porous, increases the number and size of the cavities or cells that exist inside them, they are more fragile, they resist the blows worse and they break more easily.The result of this disease is that the bones are weakened and can be broken by a simple fall or, in serious cases when the disease is very advanced, the bones can be broken by soft blows or by simple sneezing.
The word Osteoporosis means "porous or pierced bone". If we saw a bone with a microscope, healthy bone would look like a honeycomb. In contrast, when osteoporosis occurs, the holes and gaps in that honeycomb would look much larger than in healthy bone. That is, bones with osteoporosis lost bone density or mass. As the bones become less dense, they become thinner, weaker and can break more easily.
Therefore, if you are 50 years old or older and have broken a bone, check with your doctor to get a bone density test to verify the conditions they are in.
It is known that about 54 million Americans have osteoporosis and a low density of bone mass. This low density is what makes the risk of having osteoporosis greater. It is believed that 1 in 2 women, and 1 in 4 men over 50 years old, could break a bone due to osteoporosis.
Causes of Osteoporosis
In the interior of the bone numerous occur throughout life metabolic changes , alternating phases of destruction and bone formation. These phases are regulated by different hormones, physical activity, diet, toxic habits and vitamin D, among other factors.Under normal conditions, a person reaches 30-35 years a maximum amount of bone mass ("peak bone mass"). From that moment, there is a natural loss of bone mass .
Women have more frequent osteoporosis for several reasons: their peak of bone mass is usually lower than that of men and with menopause bone loss is accelerated (postmenopausal osteoporosis).
There are many other causes of osteoporosis: alcoholism, drugs (glucocorticoids, hormone treatment used for the treatment of breast and prostate cancer ...), rheumatic inflammatory diseases , endocrine, liver, kidney failure, among others
Bone fractures with osteoporosis are more likely to occur in the hip, spine, or wrist, but other bones can also break. Osteoporosis can cause permanent pain, some patients lose height and when osteoporosis affects the bones of the spine, it can produce a stooped posture or a hump.
Osteoporosis can limit the ability to move and this leads to the isolation of the person or that is depressed. It has also been proven that twenty percent of the elderly who break a hip, die within a year by any of the complications related to the broken bone itself or related to surgery to repair it. Finally, many patients need long-term nursing care.
symptom
Osteoporosis is called a silent epidemic because it does not manifest symptoms until the loss of bone is so important that fractures appear. The most frequent fractures are the vertebral, hip and wrist fractures (Colles fracture or distal end of the radius). Hip fracture is especially important because it is considered a serious event because it requires surgical intervention, hospital admission and a loss of quality of life for the patient, even for a short period of time.Prevalence
This disease mainly affects women after menopause, although it can also do so earlier or affect men, adolescents and even children. Specifically, in Spain, approximately 2 million women suffer from osteoporosis , with a prevalence in the postmenopausal population of 25% (1 in 4). It is estimated that this disease is responsible for about 25,000 fractures every year. Approximately 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men over 50 will suffer an osteoporotic fracture in their lifetime.Diagnosis
Although it is a silent disease, currently rheumatologists have a wide range of tools for early diagnosis and thus adapt the treatment, either to prevent the loss of bone mass or to combat osteoporosis.There are life habits that can help improve bone quality such as: adequate calcium intake, physical exercise and no smoking. The specific amount of calcium varies with age, but many adults will need 1,000 to 1,500 mg per day. This intake can be made with natural foods rich in calcium (especially milk and its derivatives) or as supplements in the form of medicines (calcium salts). In this last case there should be a control of your doctor about the amount and the administration schedule.
In the same way, vitamin D is a fundamental substance for bone . Their daily needs are mainly achieved by the formation of it on the skin when it receives the effect of solar irradiation.
Osteoporosis Treatment
The goal of osteoporosis treatment is to reduce the number of fragility fractures.As a generalized measure, it is recommended to maintain healthy lifestyle habits, such as a balanced diet rich in calcium , quitting tobacco and excessive consumption of alcohol, as well as exercising daily with control to avoid falls. In addition, some people may require calcium and vitamin D supplements.
The preventive measures of osteoporosis that can be adopted in childhood, adolescence, youth and adulthood are aimed at achieving maximum bone mass (this usually occurs before the age of 30, since after that age the bone remodeling slows down and favors the decrease in bone density).
In postmenopausal women there are pharmacological and non-pharmacological measures that improve bone quality and slow down as much as possible the loss of bone mass.
In elderly people, measures to prevent the risk of falls play a fundamental role.
Non-pharmacological or preventive measures of osteoporosis
