Osteoporosis Is Habitually Known as Silent Disease - Assignment Example

Osteoporosis is habitually known as a silent disease since the loss of bone often takes place without any visible symptoms. During the early stages of osteoporosis no pain or other symptoms are experienced however, when the bones have weakened, the individual indicates various symptoms. The symptoms include collapsed vertebra that can be felt in terms of acute back pain, height loss with time, and bone fracture as a result of bones being overly-brittle.    Osteoporosis has four stages with stage one occurring at the ages between 30 and 35 years when bones break down as the body builds bone with no visible symptoms. The second stage occurs after the age of 35 years since bone breakdown is faster compared to the pace a person’s body builds bone; however, the stage has no observable symptoms although osteoporosis can be identified by bone-density tests. The third stage often occurs after the age of 45 to 55 years when bones become thin that they break under stress that they can under normal circumstances withstand; therefore, this stage is when many cases of osteoporosis are diagnosed. The fourth stage occurs when bone fractures continue, pain increases and disability begins to appear since deformities in the spine and various areas become more obvious (McIlwain and Debra 18-20).    Q.2 As an individual grows old bone is often removed and fresh bone added to the skeleton with the childhood and adolescence period being the period when new bone gets added faster compared to the removal of old bone. Peak bone mass is attained at the age of 30 years and from that point onwards more bone is lost than replaced and if not treated, bone loss may lead to osteoporosis. Besides, the likelihood of developing osteoporosis increases when full bone mass is never attained during the bone-building years (“Osteoporosis”).  Osteoporosis can develop regardless of the various risk factors associated with it in women; however, the risk factors increase the likelihood of developing osteoporosis. The various risk factors associated with osteoporosis in women include the fact that women have less bone tissue compared to men and have sudden drops in hormones, especially estrogen when they get to menopause. Other risk factors include family history, gastrointestinal malabsorption, alcohol, smoking, physical inactivity, age, gender, body size, and endocrine disorders like diabetes (“Osteoporosis”).    Q.3 Screening test for osteoporosis is known as bone mineral density (BMD) test which is usually painless and a noninvasive way of measuring bone mass. BMD is capable of detecting osteoporosis before even a fracture occurs and can estimate the risk of having a fracture in the future. The BMD of an individual is measured and compared to that of a healthy 30-year-old adult known as the T-score or even compared to the expected bone mass of an individual’s age referred to as the Z-score. Results of BMD reveal if an individual has ordinary bone density, or reduced bone density commonly referred to as osteopenia or full-blown osteoporosis (“Osteoporosis”). Treating and managing osteoporosis involves lifestyle changes and medications and even though osteoporosis is easily preventable it has no cure since lost bone cannot be replaced. Therefore, treatment of osteoporosis focuses on decreasing incidences of fractures as well as slowing the process of bone loss (“Osteoporosis”).    Osteoporosis is a worldwide problem since it occurs in every geographic area and affects 150 million people across the globe both men and women (Suman et al 1). Osteoporosis can develop at any age within any gender but is more frequent in older women, according to Navarro et al (397), postmenopausal women of low socioeconomic status have low values of BMD in the lumbar spine thus they have a higher prevalence of osteoporosis and high prevalence of total vertebral fractures.   Q.5 Apart from financial costs, Osteoporosis takes a toll on an individual in terms of reduced quality of life since many people suffer from fractures. Moreover, the condition can affect the lives of family members as well as friends who take up the role of caregivers (“Osteoporosis Handout on Health”).    Read More