54.4 percent of Those over 50 years of age in Spain suffer from osteopenia and 10.7 percent osteoporosis, according to the latest study by the Spanish Society of Rheumatology (SER) on the epidemiology of osteoporosis in the Spanish population, known as the OsteoSER project.
“At the moment 782 fragility fractures occur per day in the Spanish population; However, only 36 percent of these individuals receive treatment for osteoporosis,” according to Dr. Laia Gifre, from the Rheumatology Service of the German Trias i Pujol Hospital, in the context of World Osteoporosis Day, which is celebrates next October 20.
What is osteopenia?
Osteopenia is a condition in which bone mineral density is lower than normalbut not low enough to be considered osteoporosis. It occurs when bones begin to lose mineralsmainly calcium, which causes a decrease in its density and strength. This gradual loss makes bones more fragile and susceptible to fractures, although not with the same high risk that characterizes osteoporosis. Osteopenia is usually detected by a bone density test, called densitometry, which compares bone density to that of a young, healthy person.
Symptoms
The causes of osteopenia can be varied, including aging, a diet low in calcium and vitamin D, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, a sedentary lifestyle or certain medications such as corticosteroids. Although it does not always present clear symptoms, it is a warning sign that the bones are losing their strength and could progress to osteoporosis if preventive measures are not taken. These measures usually include lifestyle changes, such as a diet rich in calcium and vitamin D, regular exercise, and, in some cases, specific medication to strengthen bones.
By gender, the OsteoSER project confirms that osteoporosis is much more common among women (18.6 percent), than among men (2.6 percent). For the main researcher of the study and member of the Rheumatology Service of the Bellvitge University Hospital, Carmen Gómez Vaquero, “these results are very useful for calculating the resources that should be dedicated to the prevention of fragility fractures in the National Health System.”
According to Gómez, in the population with the highest risk of fracture, women aged 65 years or older, 24.9 percent have osteoporosis. The absolute number would rise to 1,300,021 Spanish women at high risk of fracture if the data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) are considered.
Furthermore, the specialist pointed out that the study also provides data on people under 50 years of age. In this regard, 96.7 percent had a bone mineral density (BMD) within that expected for their age. In turn, a greater proportion of men, 5.4 percent, had a lower BMD than expected, compared to 1.2 percent of women.
Regarding this issue, Dr. Enrique Casado, from the Parc Taulí University Hospital, has assured that “It seems that the number of young men and women, even under 50 years old, is increasingdiagnosed with osteoporosis.” Among the causes, he has pointed out that a part of young people have habits that are unhealthy for the bone, such as a sedentary lifestyle, less exposure to the sun or less consumption of dairy products. “It also seems that, due to greater pollution, manipulated foods, infections, stress, etc., the incidence of autoimmune diseases is increasing, which, both due to the disease itself and due to some of the treatments, such as corticosteroids, are associated with a greater frequency of osteoporosis and fractures,” has added.
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