No doubt, you have a rather good idea about how much money you have in your bank account at any given time. And, if your bank balance was in the red, more than likely, you’d be worried about it.
Equally important, but usually forgotten, is your bone bank balance. There’s a reason osteoporosis is called “the silent disease”: few people detect it early enough, and in terms of importance, it’s often considered a distant second to other health priority conditions such as cancer or mental health.
Despite previous publicity, osteoporosis – a disorder where bones become very fragile and more likely to fracture or break – does not just affect old ladies. Peak bone mass (PBM) – the amount of bone mass and strength at the end of skeletal maturation (which is determined by both genetic and environmental factors) – is a key indicator in terms of risk of developing osteoporosis. According to studies, PBM is generally attained during one’s late 20s to early 30s (an age when most people are thinking more about their bank balance than bone bank balance).
According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation of South Africa (NOFSA), one in three women, and one in five men over the age of 50, will develop an osteoporotic fracture within their lifetime. About four million South Africans2 may be affected by osteoporosis, and this number is expected to rise significantly in the coming years.
According to Harvard Health Publishing, similar to muscle mass, bone strength starts to decline earlier than anticipated, decreasing by an average rate of 1% per year after the age of 40. So, we have a limited window of opportunity to build our so-called bone bank and prevent fractures later in life.
The concern around fractures is not just about limited mobility and the associated inconvenience. According to NOFSA, one in five patients die within one year of a hip fracture and less than 50% of patients can live independently after a fracture.
It has been stated that men have a higher risk of fracture from osteoporosis than prostate cancer, and osteoporosis fractures in women are more common than breast and cervical cancer combined,.
THE BONE THIEF
To make the invisible visible, NOFSA and Cipla South Africa have partnered to educate people on how to prevent osteoporosis, the importance of early detection and disease management.
Bone is a living tissue, meaning it is constantly broken down and replaced. A bone mineral density (BMD) test or bone density scan (DXA) is a safe, painless way to measure how much calcium and other minerals are in your bone and knowing your risk for developing osteoporosis. High risk factors include diabetes, chronic malnutrition diseases (e.g. anorexia nervosa), poor nutrition, HIV, ethnicity, certain medication, or family history.
As a way of drawing attention to this critical issue and getting people to go for BMD tests, the osteoporosis campaign introduces a limited range of eye-catching bone density jewellery range – printed to mirror a person’s unique bone density imagery. The jewellery is not only a conversation starter, but a tangible reminder to prioritise and improve your bone health through some lifestyle changes.
CEO of NOFSA, Teréza Hough, has stressed the importance of health professionals referring high risk patients for BMD testing: “The NOFSA is 30 years old now. The myth that osteoporosis is a little, old white ladies disease is still out there. It’s a myth we need to dispel because from the latest research we know that all our population groups are affected by osteoporosis. People are not aware enough about this fact. Everyone can get osteoporosis.”
“Healthcare providers need to know the risk factors for developing osteoporosis: for example, if you have a patient who has asthma and is on cortisone every day, they should be referred for a BMD test,” Hough says. “Screening for risk factors that may affect bone health should be incorporated in any health screening. We do cardiac screening, diabetes and breast cancer screening, so why can’t we look after our bones too?”
IMPROVE YOUR BONE BANK CREDIT SCORE
It is extremely important to educate people about osteoporosis risk factors. So how do you ensure your bone bank balance is healthy? Treat it like you would treat your actual bank account:
- Manage your expenses: Stop all risky behaviours or minimise your lifestyle risk
factors such as smoking, lack of calcium, lack of weight-bearing exercise and excessive alcohol consumption. - Savings and Investments: Tip on how to invest in the future of your bones:
– Get enough Vitamin D, which helps the absorption of calcium from food
– Eat healthy (leafy green veggies such as broccoli or spinach, nuts and oily fish)
– Consume plenty of dairy (milk, yoghurt, cheese and butter)
By encouraging people with risk factors to have a bone density test, patients stand a better chance of dealing with osteoporosis before it’s too late. “We are an ageing population. We only have about 10 million people over the age of 50 at this time, so in 20-30 years’ time, the stats are concerning around people who will develop hip fractures.”
Hough says NOFSA are also promoting the use of the Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX), which predicts the 10-year risk of hip and major osteoporotic fractures based on various risk factors.
Cipla South Africa CEO, Paul Miller, adds: “We need to change the mindset around a so-called silent but very debilitating, degenerative disease by raising awareness around risks and encouraging the necessary tests or scans. As part of our ethos of “caring for life”, we want to ensure that younger people make their bone health a priority, and prevent fractures later in life.”