On the occasion of International Osteoporosis Day (October 20), the Ministry of Health announced the key points of osteoporosis prevention and treatment through its official website on October 10, proposing 11 recommendations for osteoporosis prevention and treatment, self-testing for people at risk of osteoporosis, and misconceptions about osteoporosis. The full text is as follows.
I. 11 tips for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis
(a) Osteoporosis is a chronic disease that can be prevented and treated.
(B) people of all ages should pay attention to the prevention of osteoporosis, infants and young people’s lifestyles are closely linked to the occurrence of osteoporosis in adulthood.
(iii) A balanced diet rich in calcium, low in salt and moderate in protein is beneficial in the prevention of osteoporosis.
(iv) Smoking increases the risk of fracture in both men and women.
(v) Do not drink alcohol in excess. Daily alcohol consumption should be limited to the standard 570 ml of beer, 60 ml of white wine, 240 ml of wine or 120 ml of aperitif.
(vi) Walking or running, etc. can play a role in improving bone strength.
(vii) An average of at least 20 minutes of sunlight per day. Adequate light will play a very critical role in the production of vitamin D and calcium absorption.
(viii) Weight-bearing exercise allows the body to obtain and maintain maximum bone strength.
(ix) Prevention of falls. More than 90% of fractures in the elderly are caused by falls.
(x) People at risk should go to a regular hospital for osteoporosis testing and early diagnosis as soon as possible.
(xi) It is not too late to start treatment at any stage of osteoporosis as opposed to no treatment, but early diagnosis and early treatment will greatly benefit.
II. Key points of knowledge
(I) What is osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis is the most common bone disease in middle-aged and elderly people.
Osteoporosis is a systemic disease, which is mainly characterized by low bone mineral content, destruction of bone structure, reduced bone strength, and susceptibility to fracture.
Pain, hunchback, reduced height and fractures are characteristic manifestations of osteoporosis. However, there are many patients with osteoporosis who often do not experience any significant sensation in the early stages of the disease.
Osteoporotic fractures are fragility fractures that usually occur after daily weight bearing, activity, bending and falls.
Fractures are a direct consequence of osteoporosis, affecting body function in mild cases and causing disability or even death in severe cases. The common fracture sites are the low back, hip and arm.
(B) The dangers of osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis is the fourth most common chronic disease and the most common bone disease in middle-aged and elderly people.
Osteoporosis is known as the silent killer. Fractures are a serious consequence of osteoporosis and are often the first symptom and reason for consultation in some patients with osteoporosis. Mortality due to various complications reaches 20-25% within the first year after hip fracture. More than 50% of survivors will have varying degrees of disability.
The direct financial burden of an osteoporotic hip fracture patient is RMB 32,776 per year. The direct economic burden of osteoporotic hip fracture in China is RMB 108 billion per year.
(C) Etiology of the occurrence of osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis is influenced by both congenital and acquired factors. Congenital factors refer to race, gender, age and family history; acquired factors include drugs, diseases, nutrition and lifestyle. Old age, female menopause, and male hypogonadism are all causes of osteoporosis.
(D) High-risk groups of osteoporosis.
People with the following factors are at high risk for osteoporosis: old age; female menopause; maternal family history (especially family history of hip fracture); low weight; low sex hormones; smoking; excessive alcohol or coffee consumption; low physical activity; calcium and/or vitamin D deficiency in the diet (low light exposure or intake); diseases affecting bone metabolism; application of drugs affecting bone metabolism.
(E) Prevention of osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis can be prevented and treated.
People of all ages should focus on the prevention of osteoporosis, infants and young people’s lifestyles are closely linked to the occurrence of osteoporosis.
The mineral content of the human skeleton reaches its highest level in the 30s, which is medically known as peak bone mass. The higher the peak bone mass, the greater the “bone mineral bank” reserves in the human body, and the more delayed and less severe the onset of osteoporosis in old age.
Active improvement of diet and lifestyle and adherence to calcium and vitamin D supplementation in old age can prevent or reduce osteoporosis.
Balanced diet: increase the intake of calcium and moderate amount of protein in the diet and low salt diet. Calcium intake has an irreplaceable role in the prevention of osteoporosis. Smoking, alcohol abuse, excessive intake of caffeine and high phosphorus beverages increase the risk of osteoporosis.
Moderate exercise: human bone tissue is a kind of living tissue, and the activity of muscles in human exercise will keep stimulating bone tissue and make bones stronger. Exercise also helps to enhance the body’s responsiveness, improve balance function and reduce the risk of falls. This makes osteoporosis less likely to occur.
Increase sun exposure: The Chinese diet contains very limited vitamin D. A large amount of vitamin D3 is synthesized by exposure of the skin to ultraviolet light from the sun. Regular exposure to sunlight plays a critical role in vitamin D production and calcium absorption. The average normal person receives at least 20 minutes of sunlight per day.
Tip: Sunscreen and umbrellas also increase the chances of osteoporosis in women. The usual lack of outdoor light, and go out and put on thick sunscreen or use a sunshade, will affect the synthesis of vitamin D in the body.
(F) Early diagnosis and standardized treatment to reduce the harm.
It is better to start treatment at any stage of osteoporosis than not to treat it. Getting formal examination early and standardizing medication can minimize the risk of fracture, relieve bone pain and other symptoms, and improve the quality of life.
Prevention and treatment of osteoporosis need to be carried out under the guidance of a physician, and the prevention and treatment strategy includes two parts: basic measures and medication.
Basic measures include lifestyle modification and basic bone health supplements. Lifestyle modifications include a balanced diet rich in calcium, low in salt and moderate in protein, appropriate outdoor exercise, avoidance of smoking and alcohol abuse, careful use of drugs that affect bone metabolism, and various measures to prevent falls. Basic bone health supplements include calcium and vitamin D.
Medications include anti-bone resorption drugs, drugs that promote bone formation, and some drugs with multiple mechanisms. They must be applied under the guidance of a physician.
(vii) Self-testing for people at high risk for osteoporosis.
Tip: People at risk should go to regular hospitals for osteoporosis testing as early as possible to achieve early diagnosis, prevention and treatment.
The following questions can help in the self-testing of osteoporosis high-risk conditions, and those who answer “yes” to any of these questions are at high risk and should be seen at an osteoporosis specialist clinic.
1.Have you ever hurt your bones because of a slight bump or fall?
2. Have you taken hormonal drugs for more than 3 months in a row?
3.Have you lost three centimeters of height compared to your youth?
4.Do you often drink alcohol excessively? (Drinking 2 times a day or only 1-2 days a week without alcohol)
5.Do you smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day?
6.Do you often have diarrhea? (caused by celiac disease or enteritis)
7.Have your parents ever had a hip fracture from a minor collision or fall?
8.Ms. answer: did you go through menopause before 45 years old?
9. Have you ever had no menstruation for more than 12 consecutive months (except during pregnancy)?
10. Men: Do you suffer from impotence or lack of sexual desire?
Hint: Older, low-weight women need to pay particular attention to osteoporosis, doctors often use the term “skinny old lady” to describe such high-risk groups. In addition, lack of exercise, lack of light is also a risk factor for osteoporosis for young people.
(H) osteoporosis misconceptions.
1, drinking bone soup can prevent osteoporosis. Experiments have shown that the calcium content of the same bowl of milk is much higher than that of a bowl of bone broth. For the elderly, bone broth dissolves a lot of fat in the bone, and regular consumption may also cause other health problems. It is important to pay attention to a varied diet, eat less fatty food, insist on drinking milk, and should not consume too much protein and caffeine.
2, treatment of osteoporosis is equal to calcium supplementation. Simply put osteoporosis is caused by abnormalities in bone metabolism (osteoclasts affect more than osteoblasts in the body, and the rate of bone resorption exceeds the rate of bone formation). Therefore, the treatment of osteoporosis is not just calcium supplementation, but comprehensive treatment to improve bone mass, enhance bone strength and prevent fractures. Patients should go to regular hospitals for diagnosis and treatment.
3. Osteoporosis is a phenomenon unique to the elderly and has nothing to do with young people. Osteoporosis is not the “patent” of the elderly, if you neglect exercise in your youth, often picky or dieting, unbalanced diet structure, resulting in low calcium intake in the diet, thin body, and do not refuse bad hobbies, so that the ideal amount and quality of peak bone can not be achieved, it will give osteoporosis the opportunity to invade young people, especially young of women. Therefore, prevention of osteoporosis should be started early so that the ideal peak bone mass can be obtained at a young age.
4. It is too late to treat osteoporosis in the elderly. Many elderly people think that osteoporosis cannot be reversed and that treatment is no longer effective in old age, so they give up treatment, which is a great pity. From the point of view of treatment, the earlier the treatment, the better the effect. Therefore, once the elderly are diagnosed with osteoporosis, they should receive regular treatment to reduce the pain and improve the quality of life.
5.Discovery of osteoporosis by self-perception. Most patients with osteoporosis do not have abnormal sensations or feel insignificant in the early stage. Do not rely on self-perception to detect osteoporosis, and do not wait until you notice your back pain or fracture before going to the clinic. High-risk groups should go to hospitals with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry for regular bone density examinations, regardless of whether they have symptoms, to help understand changes in your bone density.
6, osteoporosis is a minor disease, treatment does not need to be trivial. Osteoporosis is usually more than just back pain, once a fragility fracture occurs, especially hip fracture in elderly patients, resulting in long-term bed rest and high mortality.
7, osteoporosis treatment on their own medication can be, without the need to see a specialist. For patients who have been diagnosed with osteoporosis, they should go to a regular hospital early and receive comprehensive treatment from a specialist.
8, osteoporosis is prone to fracture, it is better to be still than to move. Maintaining normal bone density and bone strength requires constant exercise stimulation, and lack of exercise will result in bone loss. Physical exercise has a positive effect on the prevention of osteoporosis. In addition, if you do not pay attention to physical exercise and osteoporosis occurs, muscle strength will also be reduced, and the stimulation of bones will be further reduced. This will not only accelerate the development of osteoporosis, but also affect the flexibility of the joints and make it easy to fall and cause fractures.
9. After fracture surgery, the bones are normal. The occurrence of a fracture often means that the osteoporosis has become very serious. Fracture surgery is only a form of treatment for localized lesions, while the risk of fracture in the whole body bones is not changed. Therefore, not only do we need to actively treat fractures, but we also need to objectively evaluate the health of our bones in order to diagnose and treat osteoporosis in a timely manner and prevent the recurrence of fractures.