Tonka
Well-known member
http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/cultura/64061.html
Osteoporosis: a problem about to turn into a nightmare
If not reversed with prevention programs, could result in less than two decades, an epidemic of fractures
Thursday October 21, 2010
El Universal
Osteoporosis is now a serious public health problem in Mexico which, if not reversed with prevention programs, could result in less than 20 years an epidemic of fractures with a high cost to the country, says Dr. Patricia Clark, a rheumatologist, academic Faculty of Medicine of the UNAM and head of the Clinical Epidemiology Unit that the maximum house of studies have in the Hospital Infantil de Mexico Federico G?mez.
Now, someone comes to the fifth decade of life (when bone loss starts) has a high probability of suffering a hip fracture, one of the most feared consequences of osteoporosis.
According to the study Epidemiology, Costs and burden of osteoporosis in Mexico, in Clark, at that age (50 years or more) are now 19 million Mexicans, and one of every 12 women and one in 20 men will suffer from him, a hip fracture in Mexico.
"In 2005 there were 21 000 cases of hip fracture, according to projections of this study, in 2050, when our country will have a population of 55 million Mexicans over 50 years of age or older, and hope life will be of 82 years, this number will increase to over 110 thousand, "said the specialist at the Faculty of Medicine, UNAM.
Million-dollar
If not done anything effective to curb osteoporosis, this disease exceed the health system, as with obesity and diabetes.
"All the country orthopedic beds could be occupied with people with fractures," says Clark.
According to the specialist at the National University in 2006 was spent solely by the acute event of the hip, more than 97 million dollars, an amount similar to what is spent annually on the purchase of insulin to the insulin in our country.
If this amount be added the cost of fractures of vertebrae and forearm, and all indirect costs (lost productivity represent patients), the estimated expenditure is quintuple.
In 2025, the annual direct costs of fractures could increase up to $ 446 million and in 2050, up to 4 billion 88 million, according to estimates by Patricia Clark.
Deterioration in the quality of life
Obviously, fractures, especially hip fractures, not just cost a lot of the health system but also to those who suffer in the flesh, they cause absolute deterioration in their quality of life and result in high mortality.
In older adults, from 12% to 20% die within the first year after a fracture, not by it but by the consequences that it entails.
Of the remaining elderly who do not die, 30% left with permanent disability, 40% have difficulty walking and 80% with some difficulty performing everyday activities (partial disability).
"In addition, a fracture is per se a major risk factor for having a second. People with a first vertebral fracture have a high probability of having another similar, and even a hip during the first year or two after it, "said the specialist.
Not seen, no pain
The tragedy of osteoporosis is not seen or hurts. Nobody feels that he get the calcium from the bones. Suddenly, the person suffers an osteoporotic fracture, as someone who has hypertension and stroke.
As if this were not enough, one of the three most common osteoporotic fractures, the vertebra (the others being the forearm and hip), usually not diagnosed.
"An indirect data size is reduced: as one ages, it becomes small, and this probably is related to vertebral fractures," said Patricia Clark.
And in primary health services, often a fracture is often mistaken and confused with rheumatic pain or with a simple twist.
On the other hand, do not always have the equipment necessary to perform bone densitometry studies, which allowed to determine the amount of salts of hydroxyapatite (crystalline calcium phosphate) that is in our bones and thus allow early diagnosis of osteoporosis.
According to the study of Patricia Clark already mentioned, only 25% of government health institutions with computers densitometry or DXA absorptiometry Dual Energy X-ray.
"In Mexico, operating 400 units DXA bone densitometry, but 85% of them are in private hospitals, where there is a small proportion of the population. The ratio would be 20 DXA densitometer equipment for one million people over 50 years, which is notoriously inadequate, "the specialist puma.
Epidemiological tool
Fortunately, with the assistance of an interagency group coordinated by Clark, and have calibrated with data from Mexico, an epidemiological tool for the World Health Organization (WHO) algorithm called FRAX or absolute risk of fracture, which can calculate based on risk factors, the absolute risk of each individual to have a hip fracture, vertebra, forearm or other after turning 40 years old.
"With FRAX, now available on the WHO website, you can also make primary prevention, ie, detect subjects with osteoporosis when they have not yet had a fracture," says Patricia Clark.
Prevention Programs
Compared with other countries, Mexico is in a range of intermediate rates of fractures. However, considering that ours is a country where the population tends to grow and where life expectancy has increased, here there are already sufficient to alert fractures and adopt as soon as possible preventive measures. "If we do, we might have an epidemic of fractures in 20 years," he warns.
What can you do? Clark recommends investing in prevention programs to keep our bones healthy.
"If we invest now to prevent risk factors, fewer costs and the elderly have strong bones and a better quality of life."
In addition, prevention programs to maintain healthy bones also serve to combat the development of diabetes, obesity and other chronic degenerative diseases that already represent a terrible threat to society.
"I hope that politicians and health authorities are aware of the enormous impact they have, and will in the near future, osteoporotic fractures, and use the information in epidemiological studies on osteoporosis in the country as soon as possible to create prevention programs and thus avoid an epidemic of fractures or limit its economic impact on the health system, "said the specialist at the Faculty of Medicine, UNAM.
More information on the issue at the following email address: patriciaclark@prodigy.net.mx. (Fernando Guzman Aguilar)
Osteoporosis: a problem about to turn into a nightmare
If not reversed with prevention programs, could result in less than two decades, an epidemic of fractures
Thursday October 21, 2010
El Universal
Osteoporosis is now a serious public health problem in Mexico which, if not reversed with prevention programs, could result in less than 20 years an epidemic of fractures with a high cost to the country, says Dr. Patricia Clark, a rheumatologist, academic Faculty of Medicine of the UNAM and head of the Clinical Epidemiology Unit that the maximum house of studies have in the Hospital Infantil de Mexico Federico G?mez.
Now, someone comes to the fifth decade of life (when bone loss starts) has a high probability of suffering a hip fracture, one of the most feared consequences of osteoporosis.
According to the study Epidemiology, Costs and burden of osteoporosis in Mexico, in Clark, at that age (50 years or more) are now 19 million Mexicans, and one of every 12 women and one in 20 men will suffer from him, a hip fracture in Mexico.
"In 2005 there were 21 000 cases of hip fracture, according to projections of this study, in 2050, when our country will have a population of 55 million Mexicans over 50 years of age or older, and hope life will be of 82 years, this number will increase to over 110 thousand, "said the specialist at the Faculty of Medicine, UNAM.
Million-dollar
If not done anything effective to curb osteoporosis, this disease exceed the health system, as with obesity and diabetes.
"All the country orthopedic beds could be occupied with people with fractures," says Clark.
According to the specialist at the National University in 2006 was spent solely by the acute event of the hip, more than 97 million dollars, an amount similar to what is spent annually on the purchase of insulin to the insulin in our country.
If this amount be added the cost of fractures of vertebrae and forearm, and all indirect costs (lost productivity represent patients), the estimated expenditure is quintuple.
In 2025, the annual direct costs of fractures could increase up to $ 446 million and in 2050, up to 4 billion 88 million, according to estimates by Patricia Clark.
Deterioration in the quality of life
Obviously, fractures, especially hip fractures, not just cost a lot of the health system but also to those who suffer in the flesh, they cause absolute deterioration in their quality of life and result in high mortality.
In older adults, from 12% to 20% die within the first year after a fracture, not by it but by the consequences that it entails.
Of the remaining elderly who do not die, 30% left with permanent disability, 40% have difficulty walking and 80% with some difficulty performing everyday activities (partial disability).
"In addition, a fracture is per se a major risk factor for having a second. People with a first vertebral fracture have a high probability of having another similar, and even a hip during the first year or two after it, "said the specialist.
Not seen, no pain
The tragedy of osteoporosis is not seen or hurts. Nobody feels that he get the calcium from the bones. Suddenly, the person suffers an osteoporotic fracture, as someone who has hypertension and stroke.
As if this were not enough, one of the three most common osteoporotic fractures, the vertebra (the others being the forearm and hip), usually not diagnosed.
"An indirect data size is reduced: as one ages, it becomes small, and this probably is related to vertebral fractures," said Patricia Clark.
And in primary health services, often a fracture is often mistaken and confused with rheumatic pain or with a simple twist.
On the other hand, do not always have the equipment necessary to perform bone densitometry studies, which allowed to determine the amount of salts of hydroxyapatite (crystalline calcium phosphate) that is in our bones and thus allow early diagnosis of osteoporosis.
According to the study of Patricia Clark already mentioned, only 25% of government health institutions with computers densitometry or DXA absorptiometry Dual Energy X-ray.
"In Mexico, operating 400 units DXA bone densitometry, but 85% of them are in private hospitals, where there is a small proportion of the population. The ratio would be 20 DXA densitometer equipment for one million people over 50 years, which is notoriously inadequate, "the specialist puma.
Epidemiological tool
Fortunately, with the assistance of an interagency group coordinated by Clark, and have calibrated with data from Mexico, an epidemiological tool for the World Health Organization (WHO) algorithm called FRAX or absolute risk of fracture, which can calculate based on risk factors, the absolute risk of each individual to have a hip fracture, vertebra, forearm or other after turning 40 years old.
"With FRAX, now available on the WHO website, you can also make primary prevention, ie, detect subjects with osteoporosis when they have not yet had a fracture," says Patricia Clark.
Prevention Programs
Compared with other countries, Mexico is in a range of intermediate rates of fractures. However, considering that ours is a country where the population tends to grow and where life expectancy has increased, here there are already sufficient to alert fractures and adopt as soon as possible preventive measures. "If we do, we might have an epidemic of fractures in 20 years," he warns.
What can you do? Clark recommends investing in prevention programs to keep our bones healthy.
"If we invest now to prevent risk factors, fewer costs and the elderly have strong bones and a better quality of life."
In addition, prevention programs to maintain healthy bones also serve to combat the development of diabetes, obesity and other chronic degenerative diseases that already represent a terrible threat to society.
"I hope that politicians and health authorities are aware of the enormous impact they have, and will in the near future, osteoporotic fractures, and use the information in epidemiological studies on osteoporosis in the country as soon as possible to create prevention programs and thus avoid an epidemic of fractures or limit its economic impact on the health system, "said the specialist at the Faculty of Medicine, UNAM.
More information on the issue at the following email address: patriciaclark@prodigy.net.mx. (Fernando Guzman Aguilar)