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An Overview of Bone Mineral Content

 

            
             Osteoporosis is a condition that causes skeletal fractures due to weakened bones with postmenopausal women most at risk. This condition leaves people disabled and needing to be in care, as well as having a huge economic cost on society. With there not being a cure for osteoporosis, prevention is needed. This article looks at whether osteoporosis can be predicted and if so how can it be best prevented. Physical activity has been seen to play a key role in increasing BMC, but the key time to carry out such activity and establish maximal gains of BMC is still unclear. Weight bearing and high impact activity enforced the greatest increases in BMC and should be utilised for their benefits. When looking at optimal timings it was established that physical activity would be best carried out pre-menarche in girls as this is when the biggest gains were seen.
             Introduction.
             It is known that postmenopausal women are at increased risk of conditions such as osteoporosis, which is where bones become weak and are more likely to fracture. Osteoporosis is a known major health problem, with the most common fracture site occurring at the hip, spine and wrist, this condition has huge health and economic implications on individuals and the communities as a whole. A study was done by Burge et al. (2007) which showed the vast economic burden of osteoporosis, it predicted that more than 2 million fracture incidents would happen in 2005 at an estimated cost of $17 billion in the USA, with women accounting for 75% of the total cost. The study also projected that by 2025 the annual fractures as well as the cost will rise by about 50%, with the most rapid growth coming from people between 65-74 years of age. Worse than this is the fatalities that can occur from fracture caused by osteoporosis, Cooper, Atkinson, Jacobsen, O'Fallon and Melton (1993) found that overall in a population-based study estimated survival rate was as little as 61% 5 years after diagnosis of an osteoporotic fracture.


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