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An International Women's Day call for women to know their osteoporosis risk

Millions of postmenopausal women suffer bone disease. Professor Juliet Compston speaks about
osteoporosis.

Two hundred million women worldwide suffer from osteoporosis.1 If you live in Europe, you have a 30 to 50% chance of suffering a fracture due to osteoporosis during your life.2

Although it is among the biggest medical challenges facing postmenopausal women, few women know about the disease or the simple steps you can take to prevent it.

So what is osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis is a disease that causes your bones to become fragile and break more easily. Around 80% of sufferers are women because their bones naturally thin after the menopause as they lose the protective effects of the hormone oestrogen.3

Oestrogen is a female sexual hormone produced in your ovaries that controls, among other things, your monthly cycle. When you stop having periods, your bones become weaker over time.

It is also a silent disease because postmenopausal women often don't suffer symptoms until they fracture a bone. They may not even notice the first spinal fracture, but additional fractures can cause pain and lasting disability.4

It's shocking to think that women over 45 spend more days in hospital due to osteoporosis than other, better-known diseases like diabetes or breast cancer.5

Luckily, there are simple, natural steps every woman can take to maintain healthy bones. Adopting a 'bone-friendly' lifestyle today can help you reduce your risk of postmenopausal osteoporosis and fractures.

What are these easy steps?
Getting out-and-about in the summer is one of the simplest ways you can maintain strong, healthy bones. Going outside regularly during the longer, lighter days exposes your body to sunlight, which it can turn into Vitamin D.6

Vitamin D is essential for absorbing calcium - a major building block for bones - from food.7 Around 99% of the calcium in your body is stored in the skeleton. So calcium-rich foods are also a crucial part of a 'bone-friendly' diet along with plenty of fruit and vegetables.

Foods rich in calcium include: dairy products like milk and yoghurt; tofu; almonds; some vegetables like broccoli and spinach; and fish with edible bones like salmon and sardines - the calcium is in the bones!8 Remember to choose skimmed milk and low-fat yoghurt.

Walking, playing tennis or dancing in the sunshine combines the benefits of Vitamin D with those of regular exercise. Exercises like walking and dancing that place weight on your bones help strengthen them.6 Exercise also builds muscle and improves balance and flexibility. This is crucial since, as you get older, you're more likely to be susceptible to falls and breaking bones.

Everyone knows that drinking too much and smoking is unhealthy. It's bad for bones too. Drinking less reduces bone loss rates and your risk of falling over. Stopping smoking can help your body absorb more calcium from food.4

Osteoporosis can have a major effect on your quality of life, but you can protect yourself by making simple lifestyle changes. It is never too early to start!

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1. Peters KM (Hrsg). Knochenkrankheiten. Darmstadt: Steinkopff 2002, 45
2. Randell A, Sambrook PN, et al. Direct clinical welfare costs of osteoporotic fractures in elderly men and women. Osteoporos Int 1995; 5: 427
3. Eastell R, Boyle IT, Compston J, et al. Management of male osteoporosis: Report of the UK Consensus Group. Qjm 1998; 91:71
4. Osteoporosis: Watch your back http://www.osteoporosis-disease.eu/site_evista/index.php?lastaction=redir&nodename=patientsHome&node_id=5. Last accessed 1st March 2009.
5. Kanis JA, Delmas P, Burckhardt P. Guidelines for diagnosis and management of osteoporosis. The European Foundation of Osteoporosis and Bone Disease. Osteoporos. Int 1997; 7: 390
6. Patient UK. Osteoporosis. http://www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/23068796/. Last accessed 1st March 2009.
7. Office of Dietary Supplements. National Institutes of Health. Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Vitamin D. http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamind.asp. Last accessed 1st March 2009.
8. International Osteoporosis Foundation. Good Nutrition for Healthy Bones. http://www.iofbonehealth.org/download/osteofound/filemanager/publications/pdf/good_nutrition_for_healthy_bones.pdf. Last accessed 1st March 2009 ... more

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