Prevention

PREVENTION

Osteoporosis is a preventable disease for most people, if they take the necessary steps throughout their lives. Contrary to popular belief, osteoporosis is not a disease of old people, and if preventative steps are not taken, bone loss occurs earlier in life, long before symptoms of the disease. Osteoporosis and low bone mass are currently estimated to be a major public health threat for almost 44 million US women and men aged 50 and older. By the year 2010, it is estimated that over 52 million women and men in this same age category will be affected and, if current trends continue, the figure will climb to over 61 million by 2020.

A comprehensive program that can help prevent osteoporosis includes:

a balanced diet rich in calcium and vitamin D

weight-bearing exercise

a healthy lifestyle with no smoking and limited alcohol intake and

bone mineral density testing (BMD Test) and medication when appropriate.

Prevention is important at all ages, however, at the time of menopause, these steps may not be enough without estrogen therapy or other osteoporosis-related medications to protect from bone loss. With menopause, women begin to lose bone mass at an accelerated rate as their estrogen levels fall, and they can lose up to 20 percent of their bone mass in the five to seven years following menopause, placing them at increased risk for osteoporosis.

EARLY DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT

We are in a new era of preventing, detecting and treating this disease. In the past decade, bone density tests, painless diagnostic tests, have become available, in addition to several medications to prevent and treat this disease. Osteoporosis is highly preventable and treatable, especially if caught early, and people with risk factors should ask their doctor about a bone density test.

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