Scientific understanding of osteoporosis★ Consequences of osteoporosis allowed to develop Osteoporosis to a certain extent bones become fragile, the biggest problem is fracture, which not only increases the patient’s pain, aggravate the economic responsibility, and seriously limit the patient’s activities, and even shorten life expectancy. The rate of death within one year from hip fracture can be as high as 20%, while the rate of disability is as high as 50%. Surveys have found that 75% of postmenopausal women suffering from osteoporosis go untreated, and more than half choose to treat osteoporosis with calcium supplements alone. In fact, the main cause of osteoporosis in middle-aged and elderly people is the imbalance in bone metabolism caused by the decline in hormone levels as people grow older after middle age. Only symptomatic treatment under the guidance of a doctor can effectively reduce the risk of fracture. ★ Osteoporosis varies by gender Women are not only more likely to get it than men, but also appear earlier, which is determined by the specificity of women’s hormones. For women, the decrease in estrogen during menopause is the cause of accelerated bone loss, while for men, androgens also have the same function of maintaining bone density, and when androgens slowly decline with old age, the symptoms of osteoporosis will also accelerate. Statistics show that the incidence of osteoporosis is two or more times higher in women after the age of 50 than in men of the same age, and the onset of the disease is 10 years earlier than in men. ★ Calcium deficiency and osteoporosis are not the same thing calcium deficiency can be bone softening can also be osteoporosis, if children lack calcium, more mainly will lead to chondromalacia, due to insufficient bone strength will lead to rotundity and other bone deformation. After old age, it often leads to brittle bones and reduced resistance to fracture, which is osteoporosis. Once suffering from osteoporosis, it is important to take calcium and vitamin D supplements as basic supportive measures, while using anti-osteoporosis drugs for treatment. ★ Osteoporosis is not the same as osteomalacia Osteoporosis and osteomalacia are twin bone diseases caused by calcium deficiency in the body, and osteomalacia does not occur after calcium supplementation, but is symbiotic with osteoporosis. Osteomalacia is just a kind of compensation of the body for osteoporosis. The new bone formed by the body with this compensatory effect is far from being able to make up for the large amount of lost old bone, and the calcium that should have entered the interior of the bones is deposited and repaired on some of the most stressed bone surfaces, such as the cervical vertebrae, lumbar vertebrae and heel bones, which is osteomalacia.