Osteoporosis is a silent disease that can cause severe disability. Unfortunately, its silence has also resulted in ignorance about the ailment.

What is osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis is a disease in which bones become fragile and are more likely to break. If not prevented or if left untreated, osteoporosis can progress painlessly until a bone breaks. These broken bones occur typically in the hip, spine, and wrist. Hip and spine fractures can be very severe and debilitating. Millions of normal appearing patients are at risk. While women are four times more likely than men to develop the disease, men also suffer from osteoporosis. For these reasons, accurate osteoporosis screening is crucial for fighting this disease.

Who gets it?
Osteoporosis is a silent condition which weakens bones and causes fractures which can result in severe disability.  It is the third most common disease (after Hypertension and Diabetes) in the elderly population. Osteoporosis has been recognized as the third most common disease to be prevalent in India by WHO ( World Health Organization). One in three women, and the one in five men around the world who will be affected by osteoporosis.

What can one do to prevent this disease?
It is advisable to get tested against this easily preventable and treatable disease. Osteoporosis can be easily detected by a simple and safe test using a DEXA bone scan which checks the density/ strength of the bone.

What happens if one has osteoporosis?
Osteoporotic fractures lower a patient’s quality of life. People may not know that they have osteoporosis until their bones become so weak that a sudden strain, bump or fall causes a fracture or a vertebra to collapse. Collapsed vertebrae may initially be felt or seen in the form of severe back pain, loss of height, or spinal deformities such as kyphosis or stooped posture.

Are certain people more likely to develop osteoporosis than others?
Factors that increase the likelihood of developing osteoporosis and fractures are called “risk factors”. These risk factors include:

   Personal history of fracture after age 50

   Current low bone mass

   History of fracture

   Female gender

   Constitutionally thin and/or with a small frame

   Advanced age

   Family history of osteoporosis

   Estrogen deficiency as a result of menopause, especially early or surgically induced

   Abnormal absence of menstrual periods (amenorrhea)

   Anorexia nervosa

   Low lifetime calcium intake

   Vitamin D deficiency

   Use of certain medications (corticosteroids, chemotherapy, anticonvulsants and others)

   Presence of certain chronic medical conditions

   Low testosterone levels in men

   Current cigarette smoking and excessive use of alcohol

How is it diagnosed?
A Bone Mineral Density exam or DEXA scan is considered the "diagnostic gold standard" in management of Osteoporosis. DEXA scans are an important tool for early diagnosis of osteoporosis and in many cases recognize the disease before the symptoms occur.

Is it treatable?
Although there is no cure for osteoporosis, the medications approved for postmenopausal women to prevent and/or treat osteoporosis include Bisphosphonates and Estrogen Therapy.

Is it preventable?
Five steps to bone health and osteoporosis prevention:

Get your daily recommended amounts of calcium and vitamin D

Engage in regular weight–bearing exercise

  Avoid smoking and excessive alcohol

 Talk to your healthcare provider about bone health.

  When appropriate, have a bone density test and take medication, if advised.