Risk of Osteoporosis Fractures Can Be Reduced by 50 Percent

Dec. 8, 2000-- It is becoming more clear that simple modern therapy, like a regular exercise regimen, taking calcium, vitamin D and, when necessary, osteoporosis drugs, can lower the risk of further fractures from osteoporosis by 50% or more within a single year, according to Paul S. Jellinger, MD, FACE, president of the American Association Clinical Endocrinologists.

Dr. Jellinger emphasizes it is never too late to treat osteoporosis, a disorder that weakens the bones and makes them more likely to fracture. He attacks the myth that osteoporosis is an inevitable consequence of aging. See http://www.aace.com.

``Even though you have a family history of osteoporosis, or have other risk factors, it does not mean that you have to suffer the same fate,'' says Dr. Jellinger.

For those who have already had fractures, the latest medical advances also provide hope for preventing future fractures, he says. Diagnosis can be made with a simple and painless bone density study.

``Remember it is never to late to treat osteoporosis,'' he says, ``See your doctor or endocrinologist as soon as possible.''

    He cites these statistics:
    *  80% of the 22 million women at risk for the disease are not aware that
       they even have a problem.  For them the first warning sign may be a
       fracture.
    *  Nearly 20% of untreated women with post-menopausal osteoporosis will
       fracture again within one year in spite of taking extra calcium
       and vitamin D.

Dr. Jellinger says that prevention can start as early as the teenage years by exercising along with receiving sufficient calcium and vitamin D.

``Because most adults did not have this valuable insight to osteoporosis prevention, they are deficient in calcium and vitamin D, and to add to the problem, they do not get enough exercise,'' says Dr. Jellinger.

SOURCE: American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists

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