This silent disease comes crawling

Although osteoporosis predominantly affects older postmenopausal women, low bone mineral density also occurs in younger women. Its idiopathic, warns Pavan Chebbi

Women are gifted multitaskers and that has made them capable enough to lead a successful career while running a household and raising a family. While concentrating on each aspect of their life, women often tend to forget their own health and as a result of juggling multiple responsibilities, their bones become weaker with age leading to low peak bone mass.

Osteoporosis is a medical condition that is often associated with older women, but lately, even women under 30 have started to fall prey to this disease. According to the National Centre for Biotechnology Information, the loss in bone density starts from the age between 30 and 40. In one research study titled, Prevalence of Osteoporosis in the female population in rural centre India, the total sample size taken was 3,532. Under the age group of 30 years, there were 379 osteoporotic females while between the age group 31 and 45 years, there were 384 detected osteoporotic patients. A loss in bone density is a common phenomenon that weakens the bones in our body making them fragile and brittle. This increases the risk of a fracture with a sudden bump or fall.

This causes the start of osteoporosis due to low bone density. Other reasons can be lack of periods or irregular menstrual cycle and less body weight. While a lot of times, it may be also due to an underlying medical condition or medicine. Sometimes, pre-menopausal women undergo this disease due to uncertain reasons, known as Idiopathic Osteoporosis. Diagnosing osteoporosis among younger women is challenging and complicated. It is often addressed as a ‘silent disease’ as there are no visible symptoms in the initial stages.

Listed here are a few ways one can adapt to treat osteoporosis in younger females:

Expecting women: Women who are pregnant, or are into breastfeeding should be mindful regarding the intake of enough calcium and vitamin D. This will also help the baby to develop strong bones, or else the baby will meet the calcium needs from the mother’s bones.

Stay active: Having a regular physical exercise plan in hand is helpful to develop healthy and strong bones in the 20s. It is suggested by doctors that physical activities have beneficial effects on the bones, especially daily workouts. Other forms like running, yoga, brisk walking can also improve the hip bone density in younger females.

Eat the right diet: The diet choices in the early 20s do create an impact on building strong bones for life. Doctors recommend taking calcium and vitamin D-rich food items like fish, eggs, fortified cereals, yoghurt, and so on. Potassium and vitamin K also promotes good bone health.

Maintain a healthy weight: In addition to eating well and exercising, maintaining a healthy and balanced weight is also important. Females who are underweight or have belly fat have an increased risk of developing osteoporosis. Therefore taking the right portions is important to balance the weight and avoid such medical conditions in the near future.

Avoid smoking: Smoking can cause adverse effects on our body by damaging the bone-health. Nicotine reduces the capacity of bone-forming cells and creates an imbalance in bone turnover leading to lower bone mass.

Despite adopting these ways, if symptoms like back pain, pain in hips and wrist, stooped posture, etc., remain consistent, consulting a medical practitioner is always advisable. It will help the patient to diagnose the disease at an early stage and get an effective treatment plan in advance.

(The author is a consultant, orthopaedic surgeon.)