www.womanthismonth.com July 2016 62 LIFESTYLE | wellbeing Dr Aleksandar Dimic, rheumatology and internal medicine consultant at Bahrain Specialist Hospital, explains the debilitating disease succinctly: “Osteoporosis is porous bones.” He goes on to say that when bones get rarified due to this condition, they fracture easily. There are different types of osteoporosis, but the most common is age-related and afflicts women – post-menopausal osteoporosis. The onset of menopause sees an abrupt fall in oestrogen levels, which causes osteoporosis. Younger women who suffer amenorrhea or have undergone a hysterectomy also face the possibility of developing osteoporosis due to low levels of oestrogen. Malabsorption of calcium due to gastro intestinal issues is also a potential cause. “There is tight correlation between osteoporosis and levels of oestrogen, no matter the age,” says Dr Dimic. He goes on to explain that there are two kinds of bones – the cortical bone and the trabecular bone – the latter being more prone to osteoporosis because it is seven to 10 times more metabolically active than the cortical bone. “The majority of trabecular bone is found in the vertebrae and a part of the femur called the femoral neck. Thus, the most frequent sites of fractures due to osteoporosis are in the vertebrae and the femur,” he says. Dr Dimic sees a lot of patients, primarily women, who walk into his clinic with this bone condition. He says, “The epidemiology of osteoporosis says that every second woman after the age of 50 will have osteoporosis. And from those women, every second or third woman will suffer from fractures.” Men can get osteoporosis too, but it is rarer than in women. Men can get it in their late sixties or seventies, due to lack of the hormone testosterone. What’s unnerving about the osteoporosis story is that there are no definite symptoms, or there may be seemingly ambiguous ones, like back pain. The very first manifestation of the condition is a fracture. It is being called a pandemic disease, because it is estimated today that around 200 million women in the world have osteoporosis. “Fractures caused due to it call for a major operation and can be life threatening. The rate of mortality is 20 per cent in the first year. Forty to 50 per cent of women who have suffered a femoral neck fracture will suffer some disability throughout life. They may not be able to cope with the demands of working life, or even everyday life easily,” warns the doctor. In light of the terrible effects this disease can have, Dr Dimic cannot stress enough the Making No Bones About It Whether you are in the prime of life, or older and wiser, it’s important to safeguard your skeletal structure from going brittle on you. Behnaz Sanjana finds osteoporosis doesn’t tickle the funny bone. Oestrogen is responsible for a woman’s physical features, reproduction and bone health. The body’s main source of oestrogen, amongst others, is the ovaries. Take up weightbearing exercise
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