Osteoporosis

 In honour of tomorrow being Osteoporosis Day, this article briefly discusses the disease.

What is osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis, which means porous bones, is a disorder that affects the bones, making them thinner, more brittle, and more susceptible to fractures.

Facts about osteoporosis:

- Bones of the wrists, spine, ribs, and hips are the bones that are mostly affected by osteoporosis. This, in turn, can cause dependency on aid and sometimes even death.

- Mild actions like bending, sneezing, or coughing cause the bones to break with a great deal of suffering accompanying it

- Even though osteoporosis is rarely heard of, it's reported that over 15,000,000 U.S. citizens and 200 million people worldwide live with it

- Osteoporosis is common in older people because the bones tend to get more fragile with increasing age

- The hormonal change that occurs during menopause in women causes osteoporosis to be more common amongst women than men

-  Osteoporosis can affect people of all ages and any ethnicity, but it's most commonly observed in people with Asian and European ancestry

- People who have a naturally small frame or build are at a higher risk of developing the disease

- People with a family history of osteoporosis are also at a greater risk

Symptoms of osteoporosis:

Osteoporosis is asymptomatic, which is why it's commonly known as the silent disease. A person likely won't know they're affected unless they suddenly break a bone. But there are some mild indicators, including Height loss and a hunched figure.

Causes of osteoporosis:

Osteoporosis most likely occurs when your bones lose their ability to re-grow and reform themselves as a person grows older. Especially after the age of 35, your bones break down at a rate faster than the body can replace. If a person accumulates or attains a high bone mass in their youth, they are less likely to develop osteoporosis.

- Low production of oestrogen can also cause the disease. To put it shortly, anything that causes bone mass loss also puts people at a greater risk for osteoporosis.

Treatment and prevention:

You can prevent the disease by:

- Staying active

- Minimising alcohol consumption

- Following a nutritious diet

- Increasing calcium intake to strengthen the bones

- And increasing vitamin D intake

Pharmacological treatments include the bisphosphonates, hormone replacement therapy, selective oestrogen receptor modulators, calcitonin, the 1–34 fragment of parathyroid hormone, calcium and vitamin D supplements, and calcitriol.