A Descriptive Study of Osteoporosis Prevalence among Women in a Selected Hospital Ludhiana, Punjab

Abstract

The study is undertaken in view to prepare a pamphlet on prevention of osteoporosis for the women those who are vulnerable for developing osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a skeletal disease in which bones become brittle and prone to fracture. In other words, the bone fails density. Osteoporosis is detected when bone density has decreased to the point where fractures occur with mild stress. India is on the verge of an osteoporosis epidemic affecting five crore people. In this, 60% are women. In India, one in four women and one in eight men over the age of 40 have osteoporosis. But the disease can hit at any age. A 50-year-old woman has at least a 40% risk of an osteoporotic fracture during the rest of her life. The reasons why this occurs during aging are not clear, but declining levels of sex hormone is one factor. Some individuals have a very high turnover rate of bone, some have a very gradual turnover, but the breakdown of bone eventually overtakes the build-up. Osteoporosis is a major health problem that is particularly prevalent among post-menopausal and older women. The UN Fourth World Women’s Conference (1995) reports that the long-term health prospects of women are influenced by changes at menopause, which in combination with poor nutrition and lack of physical activity may increase the risk of osteoporosis.