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Osteoporosis:
The Silent Disease
The word osteoporosis
means "porous bones." It is sometimes called the "silent
disease" because there are no telltale symptoms--until a brittle
or weak bone breaks. An elderly woman may fall and break a hip,
or her spinal vertebrae may undergo tiny breaks (called microcompressions)
and begin to collapse onto each other. And even more painful, a
broken hip or other fracture can set off a steep decline in health.
Risk factors
for osteoporosis include:
- A thin,
slight build
- Being either
postmenopausal or of advanced age
- A family
history of osteoporosis
- Being Caucasian
or Asian American (although African Americans and Hispanic Americans
are at risk too)
- Low calcium
intake
- An inactive
lifestyle
- Cigarette
smoking
- Excessive
alcohol intake
- Anorexia
- Use of certain
medications such as corticosteroids or anticonvulsants
- In men,
low testosterone levels
Fortunately,
osteoporosis is not inevitable. First, men and women both can build
bone mass through about age 30 with a diet high in calcium and weight-bearing
exercise. Second, maintain those good health habits as you get older.
And finally, if you are a woman, discuss osteoporosis and menopause
with your doctor, as bone loss can be rapid in the first five to
seven years after menopause.
For more information
about osteoporosis and your health, talk to your doctor, call Mercy
On Call at 358-2767 or 800-358-2767, or visit the web site of
the National Osteoporosis
Foundation.
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