Want to avoid hip fracture? Osteoporosis treatment and prevention, and how the bone condition is also linked to heart disease
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The global burden of osteoporosis has doubled in the last 30 years, while hip fractures, almost always a consequence of osteoporosis, are also expected to double over the next 30 years, according to two recent studies.
Why? What’s happening given our better advice on bone care as we age?
It’s partly because as we live longer, we exhibit more of the problems that manifest in old age, says Cheung Ching-Lung, associate professor at the University of Hong Kong’s department of pharmacology and pharmacy.
It’s also party because osteoporosis – commonly perceived as a woman’s disease – has been widely neglected in men by both physicians and patients themselves, Cheung adds.
For men with hip fractures, roughly 20 per cent are treated for osteoporosis a year after hip fracture, compared with 30 per cent for women, Cheung says. This is also part of the reason why the projected increase in hip fractures by 2050 is higher in men than in women.
Post-menopausal women are also prioritised for osteoporosis treatment over men on account of limited resources, Cheung adds.