Osteoporosis Emerges as Growing Public Threat
Men as well as women should do more to prevent osteoporosis, or cases of the bone-wasting disease will mount with the aging population and put a heavy burden on the country’s medical system, Surgeon Gen. Richard H. Carmona said Thursday.
Osteoporosis “represents a major public health problem,” largely because people lack awareness of it and fail to take available steps to combat it, said the surgeon general’s first report on the condition.
“Thirty years ago, when I was a young medical student, we thought osteoporosis was a natural part of aging,” Carmona said at a media briefing. “But today we know there is a lot we can do to prevent it.”
Prevention should begin at a young age, the report said. The young as well as the elderly should consume enough vitamin D and calcium, exercise regularly and not smoke, it said.
Osteoporosis, the most common form of bone disease, reduces bone density and puts people at high risk of further injuries. Although few die as a direct result of the disease, it causes about 1.5-million fractures a year.
About 10 million Americans over the age of 50 have osteoporosis, and about 34 million more are considered at risk. Without greater attention to the disease, the report predicts, there will be 14 million cases by 2020 and more than 47 million people will be at risk. Risk factors include smoking, being underweight and having a close relative who has osteoporosis.
Failure to address the problem will come with a “staggering” cost, Carmona said. In 2002, the cost of caring for fractures was nearly $18 billion.
While research on treatment and prevention has accelerated over the last three decades, much of what has been learned hasn’t been translated into standard medical practice. Studies show that healthcare professionals often fail to diagnose and treat osteoporosis, even among seniors who have suffered from a fracture, the report said.
“We need to close the gap between what we all know and what the public needs to know,” Carmona said.
