The HEALTH : August 2018 | Page 24

24 wonder women The HEALTH | AUGUST, 2018 DECCAN CHRONICLE The visible changes in bone structure for persons with osteoporosis from 30, 50 and 70 years. Implications Recommendation High risk 61% will have OP on Suggest to measure BMD and consider BMD measurement pharmacologic treatment if BMD is not available, espcially if other risk factors are present Medium risk 15% will have OP on Suggest to measure BMD and consider BMD measurement pharmacologic treatment if BMD is low Low risk 3% will have OP on BMD measurement is usually not necessary BMD measurement unless other risk factors are present BMD: bone mineral density, OP: ostcoporosis. Osteoporosis Reference for OSTA: Koh LKH, Sedrine WB, Torraba TP, Kung A, Fujiwara S, Chan SP, et al. On behalf of the osteoporosis self-assessment tool for Asians (OSTA) Research group. A simple tool to identify Asian women at increased risk of osteoporosis. Osteoporos Int 2001;12:699e705 When bones break down at a quicker pace MOVING WITHOUT PAIN O STEOPOROSIS means “porous bone” — the inner bones which are full with holes and spaces. University of Malaya, Faculty of Medicine Department of Medicine senior lecturer and consultant Endocrinologist Dr Lee Ling Lim emphasised that it is a bone disease which occurs when the body makes too little bone or the body losses too much bone, or both. “Therefore, bones become weak and are more likely to break from a fall, typically from a standing height (aka “low-trauma” fracture)”. What makes a women more susceptible to it? During childhood and adolescence, more bones are deposited and thus, the skeleton grows in size and density. “The amount of bone tissue in skeleton (aka bone mass) can keep growing until around age 30. By then, bones have reached their maximum strength and density (aka peak bone mass). Between age 30 and menopause, there is minimal change in total bone mass.” “However, during the first few years after menopause, most women have rapid bone loss due to the loss of oestrogens, which then slows but continues throughout the postmenopausal period. This loss of bone mass can lead to osteoporosis”, she said. THE aims of treatment for osteoporosis are to avoid the risk factors as listed and to prevent falls/fractures. Lifestyle • Exercise: The best activity is weight- bearing exercise such as brisk walking, hiking, jogging, playing tennis, danc- ing and weight training. • Quit smoking • Moderate alcohol intake (lesser than three units per day) • Adequate sunshine exposure Medications: There are oral and inject- able agents which act by either slowing bone loss or promoting bone formation to a certain extent. To name a few – bisphos- phonates (alendronate, zoledronate and ibandronate), denosumab, teriparatide, raloxifene and hormone therapy. Discus- sion with health care professionals on the appropriate medications is required. O The four stages of osteoporosis. Age group affected? Women who have attained menopause. In gen- eral, women aged 50 years or older are at risk. There are some risk factors for osteoporosis: • Menopause before age 45 such as surgical removal of ovaries (oophorectomy) • Family history of osteoporosis or low-trauma fracture in first degree of relatives • Low calcium/vi