TEHRAN – A pilot plan on the early detection and treatment of osteoporosis is being implemented in three cities, Baqer Larijani, director of Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Institute at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, said on Tuesday.

In recent years, public awareness of osteoporosis and fractures has been growing, but there is still insufficient information, he said, adding, the training of doctors and medical staff in this area should be given priority, IRNA reported.

“There is a gap between needs and services in this field, so we should have appropriate policies in the future,” he stated, lamenting, a significant number of people with osteoporosis do not continue treatment, so that clinical guidelines for osteoporosis should be further promoted.

Regarding the international cooperation in this field, he said that “we are trying to increase our cooperation at the national and international levels.”

80% of Iranian women above 75 suffering from osteoporosis

Afshin Ostovar, head of Osteoporosis Research Center at the Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Institute, said that 80 percent of women over the age of 75 across the country are suffering from osteoporosis.

According to International Osteoporosis Foundation, 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.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, but now one in two women and one in four men over the age of 50.

In other words, half of the women aged 50 or above experience osteoporosis fractures, 20 to 50 percent of pelvic fractures lead to death, he lamented.

Seventeen percent of Iranians over the age of 30 and 20 percent of women aged over 50 are suffering from osteoporosis, Ahmad Raeisosadat, secretary of the association of physical medicine and rehabilitation, said in October 2019.

Osteoporosis prevalence

Although osteoporosis is mainly rooted in genetics, low physical activity or an unhealthy diet with a small amount of calcium, gradually reduces bone calcium and causes osteoporosis. It is referred to as the silent epidemic disease of the century because it does not create serious pain until a bone fracture occurs.

Osteoporosis is preventable and can be stopped with proper diet, exercise, and annual checkups.

Mina Kermani, a rheumatologist, announced in February 2019 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.

The aging of populations worldwide will be responsible for a major increase in the incidence of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women.

FB/MG