With ageing population, IOF predicts huge increase in osteoporotic hip fractures

Islamabad :Worldwide, fractures due to osteoporosis affect one in three women, and one in five men, aged 50 or over. In women, osteoporosis accounts for more days in hospital than breast cancer, myocardial infarction, diabetes and other diseases. With the ageing of the population, osteoporotic hip fractures are expected to increase by 310% in men and 240% in women from 1990 to 2050.

According to the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) its 240 national member societies that are raising awareness of bone health and osteoporosis prevention, the impact of fragility fractures on health and quality of life is too often underestimated. “Hip fractures are particularly life threatening, and invariably result in loss of function and independence among survivors. Despite widely available diagnostic tools and effective medications, osteoporosis too often remains undiagnosed and untreated,” IOF informs on its website as part of its ongoing strategy to put bone health at the forefront of World Osteoporosis Day, which is observed worldwide on October 20.

World Osteoporosis Day (WOD) is a year-long campaign dedicated to raising global awareness of the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis and related bone diseases. It aims to put osteoporosis and fracture prevention on the global health agenda and reaches out to health-care professionals, the media, policy makers and the public at large.

The World Osteoporosis Day campaign calls on the general public to take early action to protect their bone and muscle health, in order to enjoy a good quality of life and independence in the future. Similarly, it calls on health authorities and physicians to protect their communities’ bone health. By ‘closing the care gap’ through timely assessment and treatment, health professionals, government health authorities, and hospitals can work together to reduce the human and socioeconomic burden of fragility fractures.

With a call to ‘Love Your Bones – Protect your future,’ IOF campaigns for awareness on the day by reminding the public that maintaining strong, healthy bones is the key to an active and independent future. “Marking World Osteoporosis Day allows the musculoskeletal disease community to make some noise about a neglected disease. Unlike a patient with high blood pressure who would normally receive treatment to protect against possible cardiovascular events, only a minority of patients at fracture risk will be diagnosed and receive treatment to protect against potentially devastating, life-changing and even life-threatening fractures,” states IOF, the world’s leading NGO dedicated to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis and related musculoskeletal diseases

World Osteoporosis Day offers an opportunity to promote awareness of osteoporosis and understanding of the heavy toll the disease can take on an individual’s future if left undiagnosed and untreated. It is also an occasion to improve understanding of the link between osteoporosis and fractures, which can be a major cause of disability and early death in older adults. The government can take action to enable individuals to recognize risk factors, including first fractures, and to seek testing and treatment if required in order to protect their longer-term future.

Promoting bone-healthy nutrition and exercise as essential to good bone health, as well as awareness of the role of calcium, good nutrition, and regular exercise during childhood and adolescence when bones are developing are added interventions that merit attention.