Essay On Osteopenia

Review of the Literature

Chapter two

2.1. Osteopenia As Public Health Problem: An Overview Osteopenia refers to bone density that is lower than normal peak density but not low enough to be classified as osteoporosis. Bone density is a measurement of how dense and strong the bones are. If your bone density is low compared to normal peak density, you are said to have osteopenia. if there is a greater risk that, as time passes, you may develop bone density and become very low compared to normal, known as osteoporosis. Bones naturally become thinner as people grow older because, beginning in middle age, existing bone cells are reabsorbed by the body faster than new bone is made. As this occurs, the bones lose minerals, heaviness (mass),

Of these, approximately 80% are women. The condition is responsible for millions of fractures annually, mostly involving the lumbar vertebrae, hip, and wrist. Fragility fractures of ribs are also common in men

Figure1. Common fracture sites for osteoporosis

a. Hip fracture Hip fractures are responsible for the most serious consequences of osteoporosis. In the United States, more than 250,000 hip fractures annually are attributable to osteoporosis. A 50-year-old white woman is estimated to have a 17.5% lifetime risk of fracture of the proximal femur. The incidence of hip fractures increases each decade from the sixth through the ninth for both women and men for all populations. The highest incidence is found among men and women ages 80 or older

b. Vertebral fracture Between 35% and 50% of all women over 50 had at least one vertebral fracture. In the United States, 700,000 vertebral fractures occur annually, but only about a third are recognized. In a series of 9704 women aged 68.8 on average studied for 15 years, 324 had already suffered a vertebral fracture at entry into the study and 18.2% developed a vertebral fracture, but that risk rose to 41.4% in women who had a previous vertebral