TEHRAN – Seventeen percent of Iranians over the age of 30 and 20 percent of women aged over 50 are suffering from osteoporosis, Fars quoted Ahmad Raeisosadat, secretary of the association of physical medicine and rehabilitation, as saying on Sunday.

He made the remarks on the occasion of World Osteoporosis Day (WOD) which is marked globally on October 20 each year.

WOD aim at raising global awareness of the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis, also to make osteoporosis and fracture prevention a global health priority by reaching out to health-care professionals, the media, policy makers, patients, and the public at large.

In 2019, it featured under the theme of “THAT’S OSTEOPOROSIS”, and, for the first time, highlighted emotionally impactful visuals and stories of real people living with osteoporosis in all regions of the world.

He stated that 17 percent of adults over 30 years of age are diagnosed with osteoporosis, and the number of people infected with the disease in northern provinces such as Golestan, Mazandaran, Tehran and Azerbaijan are more than southern provinces of Fars and Bushehr.

Women are more exposed to osteoporosis than men, he said elaborating that averagely, all over the country, one in three women and one in five men aged over 50 get fractures due to osteoporotic each year.

Although osteoporosis is mainly rooted in genetics, low physical activity or unhealthy diet with small amount of calcium, gradually reduces bone calcium and causes osteoporosis is, the physician explained.

Osteoporosis is referred to as the silent epidemic disease of the century, because it does not create serious pain until a bone fracture is occurred, he noted.

Osteoporosis is preventable and can be stopped with proper diet, exercise and annual checkup, he concluded.

Mina Kermani, rheumatologist, announced in February that about seven million Iranian people were suffering from osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is a condition that weakens bones, making them fragile and more likely to break. It develops slowly over several years and is often only diagnosed when a minor fall or sudden impact causes a bone fracture.

The most common injuries in people with osteoporosis are wrist fractures and hip fractures.

According to International Osteoporosis Foundation, currently it is estimated that over 200 million people worldwide suffer from this disease. At least 40 percent of the women and 15-30 percent of men will sustain one or more fragility fractures in their remaining lifetime. Ageing of populations worldwide will be responsible for a major increase in the incidence of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women.

FB/MG