Osteoporosis is a disease when the bone slowly loses its density, making it weak and vulnerable to fracture. Osteoporosis most often causes fractures in the pelvis, spine and wrist.
Symptoms of Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is known as a silent disease, because sufferers do not feel any symptoms until an accident such as slipping or falling causes a fracture.
Causes and Risk Factors for Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis risk factors include many conditions, including those that can be modified and others cannot be modified.
Modifiable risk factors:
- Sex hormone. Low estrogen levels associated with round-hole menstrual cycles and menopause can cause osteoporosis in women. Whereas in men, low testosterone levels can cause osteoporosis. This can be modified by changes in diet and also hormonal therapy.
- Anorexia nervosa. In anorexia nervosa, the body does not get the proper nutrition, so it lacks the components needed to maintain bone density
- Less consumption of calcium and vitamin D can cause bones to become brittle.
- Use of certain drugs
- Lack of physical activity
- Smoke
- Alcohol
Risk factors that cannot be modified:
- Women are more prone to osteoporosis than men
- As a degenerative disease, osteoporosis attacks individuals with advanced age around 40 years and above
- Small and thin body size in women
- Women with ethnic Caucasians and Asians have the highest risk compared to Hispanic women and blacks
- Family history of osteoporosis
Diagnosis of Osteoporosis
The diagnosis of osteoporosis is usually done by a doctor by asking for a complete medical history and performing a physical examination, bone x-ray, bone densitometry, and special laboratory tests. If the doctor diagnoses low bone mass, he may want to do additional tests to rule out other diseases that can cause bone loss, including osteomalacia (metabolic bone disease characterized by abnormal bone mineralization) or hyperparathyroidism (excessive activity of the parathyroid gland).
Bone densitometry is usually performed on women who are at the age of menopause. Several types of bone densitometry are used to detect bone loss in various areas of the body. Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) is one of the most accurate methods, but other techniques can also identify osteoporosis, including single absorptiometry photons (SPA), quantitative computed tomography (QCT), radiographic absorptiometry, and ultrasound. Doctors can determine which method is most suitable for sufferers.
Treatments Osteoporosis
Treatments for osteoporosis include:
- A balanced diet rich in calcium and vitamin D
- Training plan
- Healthy lifestyle
- Drugs, if needed. (estrogen replacement therapy, selective estrogen receptor modulators, calcitonin, and bisphosphonates.)
Prevention of Osteoporosis
Diet
A healthy diet with calcium and vitamin D intake is enough to help make bones sufferers strong. Many people get less than half the calcium they need. Good sources of calcium are low-fat milk, yogurt, cheese, orange juice, cereals, and bread. Vitamin D is also needed for strong bones. Some people may need to take vitamin D.
The data below shows the amount of calcium and vitamin D that we must get every day.
Age |
Calcium (mg / day) |
Vitamin D (IU / day) |
0-6 months |
200 |
400 |
6-12 months |
260 |
400 |
1-3 years |
700 |
600 |
4-8 years |
1000 |
600 |
9-13 years |
1300 |
600 |
14-18 years |
1300 |
600 |
19-30 years |
1000 |
600 |
31-50 years |
1000 |
600 |
51-70 years old male |
1000 |
600 |
51-70 years old woman |
1200 |
600 |
> 70 years |
1200 |
600 |
14-18 years, pregnant or breastfeeding |
1300 |
600 |
19-50 years, pregnant or breastfeeding |
1300 |
600 |
Sports
Types of exercise that can prevent osteoporosis, namely:
- Walk
- Climb
- Jogging
- Climbing up the stairs
- Weightlifting
- Tennis
- Dance
Lifestyle Lifestyle that can prevent osteoporosis, that is
- Reduce smoking
- Reduce alcohol