A Wake-up Call on Losing Bone Mass

More older American women than previously suspected are showing signs of osteoporosis, the thinning of the bones that can lead to life-threatening fractures.

A study of 200,000 healthy post-menopausal women found that almost half of them had low bone mass, and seven percent had full-blown, but previously undetected, osteoporosis.

"Nudge your doctor," advises Ethel Siris, M.D., head of the Toni Stabile Osteoporosis Center at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. "If you're 65 or over get tested, now."

"Advancing age is the prime risk factor," Siris tells the AARP Bulletin.

Some protective measures:

• Take 1,200 to 1,500 milligrams (mgs) of calcium daily.
• Take 600 to 800 mgs of Vitamin D, which helps the body absorb calcium.
• Do strength and balance exercises to help prevent falls.
• Learn about drugs that can treat or slow osteoporosis.

Siris and her colleagues reported on the National Osteoporosis Risk Assessment Study in the Dec. 15 Journal of the American Medical Association.

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