ID :
83885
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 17:05
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/83885
The shortlink copeid
GREATER CONCERN NEEDED FOR OSTEOPOROSIS
By Melati Mohd Ariff
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 9 (Bernama) -- Auntie Ma (not her real name) cuts a
forlorn figure as she slowly mops the apartment floor. The surrounding air is
cold and crisp.
She normally wakes up at around 5am to start her job as a cleaner whilst
most of the apartments' residents are still in their beds. Starting early, she
said, would enable her to finish her job way before the day gets hotter.
Despite her left hand heavily bandaged, this gutsy lady chose to continue
with her job, sweeping, mopping, moving from one floor to another and from one
block to the next.
Well into her mid-70s, Auntie Ma suffered a fractured wrist as a result of a
fall as she tried to fix her balcony lights. Because of her well-advanced age,
Auntie Ma's fractured wrist would take some time to heal.
There were times, way before she fractured her wrist, the petite Auntie Ma
lamented to the writer about her weakening knees, which made climbing up the
staircase to go about her chores such an arduous task.
HIGH RISK
In fact, for the aged, there is a higher risk of falling due to impaired
eyesight or balance or movement disorder.
Incidence of such fall could lead to fractures, particularly the wrist,
spine and hip. Women past menopause (the time in a woman's life in which the
menstrual cycle ends) also stand a high risk of suffering from fractures.
This condition is often related to osteoporosis, which is a disease of the
bone. Osteoporosis is sometimes dubbed as the 'silent disease'.
Those with osteoporosis have bones that are weak and break easily that even
a simple task, like walking, would be too painful.
According to Wikipedia, there is no specific symptom to osteoporosis and its
main consequence is the increased risk of bone fractures.
The fractures occur in situations where healthy people would not normally
break a bone and they are regarded as fragility fractures.
The free encyclopaedia said typical fragility fractures occur in the
vertebral column, rib, hip and wrist.
In the United States, 250,000 wrist fractures are attributable to
osteoporosis and wrist fractures are the third most common type of osteoporotic
fractures.
MAJOR HEALTH PROBLEM
Based on a recent report released by the International Osteoporosis
Foundation (IOF), the belief that osteoporosis prevailed only in the West and a
rare occurrence in the East can now be regarded as a myth.
It said given the large elderly population in Asia, osteoporosis is and will
be a major health problem in the coming years.
It cited the incidence of hip fracture that has raised two to three fold in
most Asian countries during the past 30 years.
The IOF's Asian Audit Report was made possible by an unrestricted grant from
Fonterra, the world's largest dairy exporter with top brands including Anlene, a
range of dairy products specially formulated for adults to optimise bone health.
According to the report, in Hong Kong, the incidence of hip fracture had
increased by 300 per cent from the 1960s to the 1990s whilst in Singapore, the
incidence of hip fracture in 1998 was five times the incidence occurred in the
1960s.
In Japan, where hip fracture was believed to be among the lowest in the
world, the incidence of hip fracture from 1986 to 1998, had increased by
1.6-fold in men and 1.5-fold in women.
Mainland China also showed a significant increase in the incidence of hip
fracture, namely 34 per cent in women and 33 per cent in men for the period from
1988 to 1992.
The report also suggested that costs of osteoporosis are substantial and hip
fracture is a major cause of hospital admission in the elderly.
In the US for instance, the direct cost of hip fracture was approximately
USD13.8 billion in 1995 whilst in the UK, the direct cost incurred of hip
fractures in 1998 was 942 million British Pound.
"Given the high cost associated with osteoporosis and hip fractures, early
detection and treatment of high risk patients are critical," said the report.
MALAYSIA'S SCENARIO
The IOF's Report, which also outlines findings on Malaysia, stated that
incidents of osteoporotic hip fractures were highest among Chinese Malaysians
(63 per cent), followed by Malays (20 per cent) and Indians (13 per cent).
It also indicated that females were twice as commonly affected compared to
males.
Race and sex-specific data showed the incidence was highest among Chinese
females (220 per 100,000) and followed by Indian females (200 per 100,000).
In terms of cost, the direct hospitalisation cost for hip fractures in 1997
was estimated at USD6 million.
The study, which also covered Vitamin D status among post-menopausal women
highlighted that 71 percent of post menopausal Malay women were not getting
their daily Vitamin D requirements.
In fact, the study noted that Vitamin D deficiency and low calcium intake
were prevalent across the 14 countries audited.
HEALTH POLICY
Fonterra Malaysia General Manager, John McKay said while Malaysia had given
osteoporosis more focus than many countries in Asia, there was still a need to
prioritise the disease at a national health policy level.
He said that the IOF's report called for the creation of a national
osteoporosis and osteoporosis-related fracture database as a top priority.
"It also calls for more public education and awareness about the disease,"
said McKay in his speech at World Wide Conference of Osteoporosis Patient
Societies in Beijing, China recently. His speech was delivered by Mark Wilson,
Fonterra Managing Director Asia Middle East.
Fonterra has been actively involved in osteoporosis education and prevention
programmes in Malaysia.
It recently launched a 'Listen to Your Bones' campaign, with the support of
Malaysia's Health Ministry.
The campaign aimed to educate Malaysians about the importance of bone health
by offering free bone scanning across the country.
According to McKay, Fonterra had to date conducted more than 1.8 million
free bone scans across Asia and the findings had provided a valuable picture of
the state of bone health in different countries.
In terms of bone research and development, Fonterra spent more than USD40
million in the last decade to better understand osteoporosis.
RISKS POTENTIALS
Even though the results of the bone scans differed from country to country,
McKay said in every country, there are a large proportion of people with low
bone density and therefore, a potential risk of developing osteoporosis.
Bone scanning conducted by Anlene in Malaysia has revealed that one in three
of the adults tested were at risk of developing osteoporosis.
The findings, which are part of Anlene's Asia-wide bone scanning programme
conducted on 1.8 million people since 2005, were in line with the key findings
of IOF's report.
Commenting on the findings, McKay said they were crucial to building a
better understanding of looming bone health problems in Malaysia and greater
Asia.
"Our bone scanning has indicated an increasing number of people are at risk
of developing osteoporosis. The findings by IOF show that the incidence of hip
fracture has already doubled or trebled in most Asian countries over the past 30
years.
"This is an alarming figure. There is an urgent need for Asian countries to
understand more about this preventable disease and take action to fight it,"
said McKay.
-- BERNAMA
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 9 (Bernama) -- Auntie Ma (not her real name) cuts a
forlorn figure as she slowly mops the apartment floor. The surrounding air is
cold and crisp.
She normally wakes up at around 5am to start her job as a cleaner whilst
most of the apartments' residents are still in their beds. Starting early, she
said, would enable her to finish her job way before the day gets hotter.
Despite her left hand heavily bandaged, this gutsy lady chose to continue
with her job, sweeping, mopping, moving from one floor to another and from one
block to the next.
Well into her mid-70s, Auntie Ma suffered a fractured wrist as a result of a
fall as she tried to fix her balcony lights. Because of her well-advanced age,
Auntie Ma's fractured wrist would take some time to heal.
There were times, way before she fractured her wrist, the petite Auntie Ma
lamented to the writer about her weakening knees, which made climbing up the
staircase to go about her chores such an arduous task.
HIGH RISK
In fact, for the aged, there is a higher risk of falling due to impaired
eyesight or balance or movement disorder.
Incidence of such fall could lead to fractures, particularly the wrist,
spine and hip. Women past menopause (the time in a woman's life in which the
menstrual cycle ends) also stand a high risk of suffering from fractures.
This condition is often related to osteoporosis, which is a disease of the
bone. Osteoporosis is sometimes dubbed as the 'silent disease'.
Those with osteoporosis have bones that are weak and break easily that even
a simple task, like walking, would be too painful.
According to Wikipedia, there is no specific symptom to osteoporosis and its
main consequence is the increased risk of bone fractures.
The fractures occur in situations where healthy people would not normally
break a bone and they are regarded as fragility fractures.
The free encyclopaedia said typical fragility fractures occur in the
vertebral column, rib, hip and wrist.
In the United States, 250,000 wrist fractures are attributable to
osteoporosis and wrist fractures are the third most common type of osteoporotic
fractures.
MAJOR HEALTH PROBLEM
Based on a recent report released by the International Osteoporosis
Foundation (IOF), the belief that osteoporosis prevailed only in the West and a
rare occurrence in the East can now be regarded as a myth.
It said given the large elderly population in Asia, osteoporosis is and will
be a major health problem in the coming years.
It cited the incidence of hip fracture that has raised two to three fold in
most Asian countries during the past 30 years.
The IOF's Asian Audit Report was made possible by an unrestricted grant from
Fonterra, the world's largest dairy exporter with top brands including Anlene, a
range of dairy products specially formulated for adults to optimise bone health.
According to the report, in Hong Kong, the incidence of hip fracture had
increased by 300 per cent from the 1960s to the 1990s whilst in Singapore, the
incidence of hip fracture in 1998 was five times the incidence occurred in the
1960s.
In Japan, where hip fracture was believed to be among the lowest in the
world, the incidence of hip fracture from 1986 to 1998, had increased by
1.6-fold in men and 1.5-fold in women.
Mainland China also showed a significant increase in the incidence of hip
fracture, namely 34 per cent in women and 33 per cent in men for the period from
1988 to 1992.
The report also suggested that costs of osteoporosis are substantial and hip
fracture is a major cause of hospital admission in the elderly.
In the US for instance, the direct cost of hip fracture was approximately
USD13.8 billion in 1995 whilst in the UK, the direct cost incurred of hip
fractures in 1998 was 942 million British Pound.
"Given the high cost associated with osteoporosis and hip fractures, early
detection and treatment of high risk patients are critical," said the report.
MALAYSIA'S SCENARIO
The IOF's Report, which also outlines findings on Malaysia, stated that
incidents of osteoporotic hip fractures were highest among Chinese Malaysians
(63 per cent), followed by Malays (20 per cent) and Indians (13 per cent).
It also indicated that females were twice as commonly affected compared to
males.
Race and sex-specific data showed the incidence was highest among Chinese
females (220 per 100,000) and followed by Indian females (200 per 100,000).
In terms of cost, the direct hospitalisation cost for hip fractures in 1997
was estimated at USD6 million.
The study, which also covered Vitamin D status among post-menopausal women
highlighted that 71 percent of post menopausal Malay women were not getting
their daily Vitamin D requirements.
In fact, the study noted that Vitamin D deficiency and low calcium intake
were prevalent across the 14 countries audited.
HEALTH POLICY
Fonterra Malaysia General Manager, John McKay said while Malaysia had given
osteoporosis more focus than many countries in Asia, there was still a need to
prioritise the disease at a national health policy level.
He said that the IOF's report called for the creation of a national
osteoporosis and osteoporosis-related fracture database as a top priority.
"It also calls for more public education and awareness about the disease,"
said McKay in his speech at World Wide Conference of Osteoporosis Patient
Societies in Beijing, China recently. His speech was delivered by Mark Wilson,
Fonterra Managing Director Asia Middle East.
Fonterra has been actively involved in osteoporosis education and prevention
programmes in Malaysia.
It recently launched a 'Listen to Your Bones' campaign, with the support of
Malaysia's Health Ministry.
The campaign aimed to educate Malaysians about the importance of bone health
by offering free bone scanning across the country.
According to McKay, Fonterra had to date conducted more than 1.8 million
free bone scans across Asia and the findings had provided a valuable picture of
the state of bone health in different countries.
In terms of bone research and development, Fonterra spent more than USD40
million in the last decade to better understand osteoporosis.
RISKS POTENTIALS
Even though the results of the bone scans differed from country to country,
McKay said in every country, there are a large proportion of people with low
bone density and therefore, a potential risk of developing osteoporosis.
Bone scanning conducted by Anlene in Malaysia has revealed that one in three
of the adults tested were at risk of developing osteoporosis.
The findings, which are part of Anlene's Asia-wide bone scanning programme
conducted on 1.8 million people since 2005, were in line with the key findings
of IOF's report.
Commenting on the findings, McKay said they were crucial to building a
better understanding of looming bone health problems in Malaysia and greater
Asia.
"Our bone scanning has indicated an increasing number of people are at risk
of developing osteoporosis. The findings by IOF show that the incidence of hip
fracture has already doubled or trebled in most Asian countries over the past 30
years.
"This is an alarming figure. There is an urgent need for Asian countries to
understand more about this preventable disease and take action to fight it,"
said McKay.
-- BERNAMA
