World Osteoporosis Day: Take calcium and Vitamin D

At PGI,about five cases of Osteoporosis are reported every day and one case of fracture in patients suffering from the disease is reported daily.

Dr S K Bhadada,department of Endocrinology,who is working extensively on metabolic bone disorder,said,“These patients are very vulnerable to falls and if they do fall,hips and wrists are the most vulnerable bones. As per another study conducted on patients,out of the total population of 5 lakh patients suffering from the disease,2 lakh have hip fracture and 3 lakh have wrist fracture.”

Dr Anil Bhansali,Head of the department of Endocrinology,PGI,said,“We want people to know that this disorder is not an old age disorder. One should make sure they have adequate calcium in their diet including dairy products and vitamin D supplements. Indians are more at risk of developing the disease due to low peak bone mass,poor calcium and vitamin D nutrition.”

“While the possibility of developing the disease increases with age. With most women affected between 50-58 years and men at an average age of 65-70 years,” said Dr R K Sen,professor,department of Orthopaedics,PGI.

Common symptoms are back pain,losing height and developing a hunched back.

Measuring Indian bones

Chandigarh: Doctors suggest that for timely diagnosis of osteoporosis,one should go in for regular bone density check ups. However,in India,there is no standardisation available for Bone Mineral Density (BMD). Since the machines used to test BMD are all imported from western countries,the readings are not reliable in the Indian context and give alarming reading.

The Indian Council Of Medical Research and Indian Society for Bone and Mineral Research has entrusted five institutes of the country with a project on standardising BMD for Indians. These five institutes include AIIMS,New Delhi,SGPGI,Lucknow,PGIMER,Chandigarh,AIIMS,Cochin and another institute in Hyderabad. Bone Mineral Density is a medical term referring to the amount of matter per cubic centimeter of bones. Bone density is used in clinical medicine as an indirect indicator of osteoporosis and fracture risk. It is measured by a procedure called densitometry. There is a direct link between poor bone density and higher probability of fracture. Bone density measurements are used to screen patients for osteoporosis risk and to identify those who might benefit from measures to improve bone strength.