As society ages with the population, the prevalence of osteoporosis is increasing year by year endangering human beings and has become one of the four major diseases announced by the World Health Organization. Because bone loss occurs silently, there are often no symptoms before a fracture occurs. Therefore, osteoporosis is also known as the “invisible killer”. As a quiet epidemic, there are about 200 million people suffering from osteoporosis all over the world, and the incidence rate has jumped to the 7th place of common diseases and diseases. The incidence of osteoporosis in China has been on the rise in recent years, with more than 90 million people suffering from osteoporosis, with a prevalence rate of 16% for people over 40 years old, 22.6% for people over 60 years old, and more than 50% for people over 80 years old. In order to draw the attention of the whole society, the World Health Organization has designated June 24 every year as “World Osteoporosis Day”. Osteoporotic fractures are a major cause of disability and death and a huge social and economic burden. However, the disease is preventable and treatable, and early prevention and treatment can reduce the occurrence of osteoporosis. What is osteoporosis? It is a disorder of systemic bone metabolism that is characterized by damage to the microstructure of bone tissue, a constant decrease in bone mineral composition and bone matrix in equal proportions, thinning of bone mass, reduction in the number of bone trabeculae, increased bone fragility and increased risk of fracture. Bone mass changes with age throughout a person’s life. Generally speaking, bone mass reaches its peak at the age of 25 and continues until the age of 40, after which, as people age, they gradually lose bone mass in their bones, and if they lose too much bone mass, the bones become progressively thinner inside, resulting in bones that are very fragile and prone to fracture, a phenomenon called osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a common disease among the elderly, and is more common in women, who are more or less likely to have some osteoporosis symptoms over the age of 40. Why does osteoporosis occur? Osteoporosis is a frequent disease, and a variety of factors can cause osteoporosis, including: 1, unbalanced diet, long-term calcium intake or insufficient vitamin D intake; 2, diseases of the digestive tract, liver or pancreas and other organs affect calcium absorption; 3, the elderly due to the decline of gastrointestinal function resulting in reduced calcium absorption; 4, women after menopause and reduced secretion of estrogen, accelerating the body’s negative calcium balance; 5, hormones and other drugs The use of hormones and other drugs leads to bone calcium loss; 6, alcoholism/smoking, high oxalic acid content in food, excessive coffee/strong tea and other bad habits affect the absorption of calcium; 7, lack of exercise and increased calcium loss; 8, outdoor exercise in the elderly reduced, causing a decrease in the synthesis of vitamin D in the body, intestinal calcium and phosphorus absorption decline, etc. All of the above causes will reduce bone formation and bone mineralization, resulting in increased bone loss. The danger of osteoporosis Osteoporosis leads to uneven stress on the bones, or bone fragility, the body produces a reparative response and the formation of bone spurs, the result of this abnormal distribution of bone components, can also cause intervertebral disc protrusion, osteoporosis is often the intrinsic cause of fractures, osteonecrosis, fractures do not heal, rheumatoid and rheumatoid arthritis the greatest danger lies in the loss of function of subchondral bone tissue honeycomb-like changes, and caused The cause is closely related to the influx of immune cells from the bone marrow to the joints. Osteoporosis can have consequences such as bone pain, hunchback, short stature, fractures and even disability. Common osteoporotic fractures include hip fractures and spinal fractures, and they often lead to secondary complications. Osteoporosis can deform vertebral bones, compress the abdomen and cause gastrointestinal disorders; osteoporosis can also make the spinal bones weak, bedridden and cause lung infections. During a person’s lifetime, bone mass changes continuously with age. Generally speaking, bone mass reaches its peak at the age of 25 and continues until the age of 40. After the age of 40, as people age, they gradually lose bone mass in their bones, and if they lose too much bone mass, the bones will gradually become thin inside, resulting in bones that become very fragile and break easily, a phenomenon called osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a common disease among the elderly, and is more common in women, with 80% of women over the age of 40 having osteoporosis symptoms. In China and globally, with the development of the trend of population aging, osteoporosis in the elderly is on the rise. In order to draw the attention of the whole society, the World Health Organization has designated June 24 every year as “World Osteoporosis Day”. Osteoporosis is characterized by peripheral pain, weakness, pain mainly in the pelvic region of the spine, frequent heel or muscle joint pain, and calf cramps during sleep. Osteoporosis can seriously affect human health. Patients with osteoporosis may experience gradual shortening of height and hunchback, and fractures can be caused by minor external forces during daily activities. How to prevent and treat osteoporosis? Prevention and treatment of osteoporosis need to be carried out in many aspects, starting from a holistic approach and comprehensive prevention and treatment. The prevention of osteoporosis should start from adolescence, as adequate calcium intake during adolescence can increase its peak bone density, store a larger bone reserve for the inevitable bone loss in the future, and reduce the risk of fracture caused by bone loss in old age; prevention of osteoporosis must also be adjusted from various aspects such as lifestyle and diet: in terms of lifestyle, the first thing is to quit smoking and alcohol and other bad habits, and carry out In terms of lifestyle, the first thing is to quit smoking and drinking and other bad habits, and to take appropriate outdoor exercise to increase sunlight exposure, thus promoting the synthesis of vitamin D in the body, and exercise can also reduce the rate of calcium loss from the bones; in terms of diet, attention should be paid to replenishing sufficient calcium and vitamin D, which is important for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. Currently, insufficient calcium intake is a widespread problem among our citizens, so improving calcium in the diet should attract widespread attention. Pharmacological treatment of osteoporosis 1. Primary type I osteoporosis is a hypermetabolic type, which is caused by the reduction of estrogen after menopause, resulting in bone loss due to hyperresorption of bone, therefore, the treatment of osteoporosis must be balanced with yin and yang supplementation, not to mention the imbalance caused by treatment. Direct supplementation of sex hormones can easily cause cancer, so only sex hormone analogues, such as soy isoflavones and lambda, can be supplemented, and both qi and blood must be supplemented to slow down the aging of organ structure and function brought about by aging. 2. Primary type II osteoporosis, the cause of which is low bone formation due to imbalance of regulatory hormones caused by aging, should be treated with bone formation promoters, such as active vitamin D, calcium preparations and vitamin K2, etc.