Be Aware! Be Alert! Osteoporosis is difficult to detect early on. Find out early if you have risk factors for this condition.

Check all that apply to you:

• Family history (fractures or dowager's hump in female relatives)

• Age (older, higher risk)

• Gender (female, higher risk)

• Sedentary lifestyle

• Race (Caucasian or Asian)

• Low calcium and vitamin D in the diet

• Build (slender, small framed)

• Early menopause before age 40 naturally or due to surgery

• Smoking

• Excessive alcohol consumption

• Certain prescription drugs that promote bone loss

• Conditions that necessitate prolonged bed-rest

• Abnormal absence of menstrual periods

• Low testosterone in men

• Problems with malabsorption in the digestive tract

• Eating disorders such as anorexia

• Taking steroid medications (such as cortisone and prednisone), anticonvulsants (such as Dilantin), or thyroid hormone for a long period of time.

One out of two women over age 50 will experience a fracture related to the disease osteoporosis in her lifetime. One out of eight men will as well. Osteoporosis is responsible for 1.5 million fractures every year in the United States. In 1995 we spent $38 million per day on the direct costs related to these fractures and these costs are rising.

Of special concern are the 300,000 hip fractures each year. A hip fracture requires major surgery, hospitalization, and rehabilitation. Osteoporosis was the underlying cause of most of these injuries. An average of 24% of hip fracture patients age 50 and older die in the year following their accident and 25% of those who could walk before the hip fracture require long-term care afterward.

What is Osteoporosis?

Literally it means "porous bones." Bones become porous and brittle when calcium - the mineral building block - is lost. Calcium is required in our bloodstream at all times and if we do not consume enough in our diet, our bodies will rob our bones to maintain this critical level. Postmenopausal women can lose up to 50% of their bone mass in the five to seven years following menopause because of less estrogen regulating the bone building process. Estrogen balances the bone builder cells with the resorptive cells. As estrogen diminishes, it allows more bone to dissolve and less to be rebuilt. Since men generally have more bone mass to start with and are not affected by menopause, their risk of osteoporosis occurs later in life.

So are you at risk? All women past menopause are at risk for developing osteoporosis. However, if any of the factors above apply to you, your risk is even greater. Often there are no symptoms until a fracture occurs. Talk to your doctor about the ways to diagnose and reduce the debilitating effects of this "silent" disease.

Also, be aware of symptoms of osteoporosis, which include:

• Kyphosis (dowager's hump or curving spine)

• Back pain

• Loss of height

• Fractures or easily broken bones

• Pain around ribs

• Difficulty breathing

• Abdominal pain

• Tooth loss

It is best to have a bone density test before these symptoms occur; however, a complete medical evaluation should be done if you have any of these symptoms.

Medicare now covers the painless, non-invasive bone density diagnostic test. Many insurance plans have also begun to cover this simple, predictive test. Most women over the age of 50 underestimate their risk of developing osteoporosis - even when back pain, stooped posture, and loss of height indicated that small fractures due to osteoporosis were already affecting their spines.

Although there is no current cure for osteoporosis, there are ways to slow bone loss and reduce the risk of fracture. They include adequate calcium and vitamin D in the diet, weight bearing and resistance exercises, and positive lifestyles changes to keep bone strong, Estrogen Replacement Therapy (ERT) or Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) to slow bone loss, and certain medications called "antiresorptive agents" that can increase bone density by working on calcium regulation and bone metabolism.

For more information, discuss your own options and choices with your health care provider. Additional information is available through:

National Osteoporosis Foundation
1232 22nd Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
Phone: (202) 223-2226
www.nof.org

North American Menopause Society
P.O. Box 94527
Cleveland, OH 44101
Phone: (440) 442-7550
www.menopause.org