"Osteoporosis is a seriously underestimated disease. At present, the number of osteoporosis patients in China is nearly 100 million." At the recent conference of China Osteoporosis Expert Opinion, Xie Zhongjian, director of Metabolic Endocrine Research Institute of Central South University and vice chairman of Chinese Medical Association Osteoporosis and Bone Mineral Salt Diseases Branch, emphasized that correct and effective popularization of science is of great significance to the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis is a systemic bone disease and a common and frequent disease among middle-aged and elderly people, seriously jeopardizing the health of middle-aged and elderly people. According to the data, the proportion of patients with fractures complicated by osteoporosis in China is more than 9% of all patients with fractures every year, and the trend is increasing year by year. Osteoporotic fracture is a serious harm. According to statistics, after the first hip fracture in the elderly, the risk of death increases 5-8 times within 3 months, and the proportion of death from various complications within 1 year is as high as 20%, and about half of the survivors cannot take care of themselves.
There are still many misconceptions and gaps in public knowledge about osteoporosis. Liu Bing, vice president of the Journal of the Chinese Medical Association, said that osteoporosis is known as the "silent killer". Because osteoporosis has no obvious symptoms in the early stages, it is easy to be ignored, and patients often come to the hospital only after they have suffered a fracture.
Nonetheless, whether or not you are suffering from osteoporosis can still be initially determined from the clues. Experts at the meeting reminded that the following four symptoms suggest that osteoporosis may be suffering from: pain in the lower back and lower limb joints, and the pain is aggravated after activity and improved after rest; height "shrinkage" (more than 4 cm drop compared to the young), spinal deformity, which may be accompanied by a hunchback; limited respiratory function, due to spinal scoliosis, thorax deformity and chest tightness, shortness of breath, and dyspnea; fractures. and dyspnea due to kyphosis and thoracic deformity; and fractures.
Cheng Qun, Director of Osteoporosis Department of East China Hospital affiliated to Fudan University, introduced that increasing sun exposure time and reasonable supplementation of calcium and vitamin D can effectively prevent osteoporosis and reduce the incidence rate. About 10% of vitamin D in the human body is ingested through food, and the remaining 90% is obtained through sun exposure. If you can't get enough sunlight in your life, you may consider taking additional vitamin D tablets or capsules.
Experts especially remind that women are more susceptible to osteoporosis after menopause. Normal levels of estrogen help maintain normal bone mass and bone quality, while the progressive decline in estrogen levels in menopausal women leads to gradual and severe bone loss and impaired bone quality. According to statistics, about 1 in 3 women over 50 years of age will suffer a bone fracture due to osteoporosis. Therefore, it is recommended that women over 40 years of age go to regular medical institutions for bone density testing to keep abreast of their bone status and to undergo early diagnosis and treatment when necessary to prevent fragility fractures.
Post time: Aug-09-2024