Urban women more prone to Osteporosis

                                        By Vikas Vaidya

“Urban women are more prone to Osteoporosis, a disease related to bones and found mostly in women. It has become matter of great concern due to large amount of morbidity and motility associated with this disease. This issue needs to be dealt with seriousness,” said Dr Sanjeev Chaudhary, noted Orthopaedic Surgeon of the City.
“In view of this problem, in Vidarbha Orthopaedic Society (VOS) we  have conducted research to find out prevalence of Osteoporosis in 11 districts of Vidarbha. Around 3287 women from 11 districts were screened for Bone Mineral Density (BMD). Women were categorised on the basis of their occupation, diet habits and other lifestyle factors. The group consisted of house-wives, urban women in executive jobs, farmers, construction labours, general labours, teachers and tribals of Gadchiroli.”
The overall prevalence of Osteoporosis in Vidarbha was found to be 44% and Osteoporosis was found to be highest in women in executive jobs amounting to 63 per cent and lowest in tribal women living in dense forests amounting to 33 per cent. Pointing out these statistics, Dr Chaudhary said, “These observations clearly indicated that lifestyle and environmental factors clearly influenced the occurrence of Osteoporosis in women above 45 years of age.”
The lifestyle factors identified in study were sunlight exposure, milk consumption, pattern of diet, exercise and less consumption of tobacco. These factors were found to be lacking considerably in urban women hence they suffer from Osteoporosis to large extent, said Dr Chaudhary who is the past President of VOS. Similarly these factors were found to be high amongst tribals, hence they are least prone to Osteoporosis. This study has clearly generated the need for public education as an effective tool for controling high prevalence of Osteoporosis. All the observations with recommendations were compiled in a white paper and submitted to Central Government through Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Sudip Bandopadhyay.
Dr Chaudhary warned that by the end of 2013, around 36 million Indians would be suffering from Osteoporosis and India might be recognised as the global capital of Osteoporosis. Osteoporosis leads fragility fractures and these fractures take very long time to heal and till that the patient remain confined to bed.
Dr Chaudhary who is continuously studying on this particular aspect said, “This prolong imobilisation is the major  cause of death. In few cases even if the fracture heals early and patient comes out of bed, still the quality of life becomes extremely poor and for this reason, Osteoporosis should be looked upon with great sense of concern and sensitivity.

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What is Osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis, which literally means porous bone, is a disease in which the density and quality of bone are reduced. As bones become more porous and fragile, the risk of fracture is greatly increased. The loss of bone occurs silently and progressively. Often there are no symptoms until the first fracture occurs. As we age some of our bone cells dissolve (resorption) and new bone cells grow back (formation). This process is known as remodeling. For people with osteoporosis, bone loss outpaces the growth of new bone. Bones become porous, brittle and prone to fracture. Around the world, 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men are at risk of an osteoporotic fracture. In fact, an osteoporotic fracture is estimated to occur every 3 seconds.

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Women should check Vitamin D-3 level


Bone health is especially important in post-menopausal women, as they are most affected after an osteoporotic fracture, said Dr Sushmeet Shrivastava, noted Obstetrician and Gynaecologist. The theme for 2013, ‘postmenopausal women & their bone health,’ will highlight the reasons why women in particular are at greatest risk of osteoporosis and fractures. She said, “Incidences of Osteoporosis are more in urban women because of non-exposure to sunlight which is very important source of Vitamin D-3. The flats and houses wherein we have exposure to sunlight is very limited. Osteoporosis incidences have considerably gone up. It can be detected not only in a postmenopausal age but in early age too.”
Now Assistant Medical Superintendent, Acharya Vinoba Bhave Rural Hospital, Sawangi (Meghe) Wardha Dr Shrivastava said, “At the age of 30, women should checked themselves for alpha hydroxy vitamin D-3 level in blood. If this level is found low, vitamin D-3 should be started at that age. After the age of 25 years, the bones are in the formation stage and peak bone mass is formed till the age of 25 years. After that, a woman has to maintain it by her diet, exercise and sunlight exposure. Any irregularity results in loss of the bone mass which can eventually leads to Osteoporosis.
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