Skip to main content /HEALTH with WebMD.com
CNN.com /HEALTH
CNN TV
EDITIONS


Campaign urges osteoporosis testing



By Thurston Hatcher
CNN

(CNN) -- It's a silent disease, so you might not know you have it until you break something -- your wrist, your hip, maybe even your spine.

Osteoporosis affects some 28 million Americans and can be treated. But according to a recent survey, nearly half of older women hadn't even been tested for it.

Given those numbers, the National Council on the Aging has launched a national campaign aimed at educating people about the skeletal disease and the importance of testing.

"We are trying to spread the word that this is not an inevitable part of aging," said Dr. Ethel Siris, director of the Toni Stabile Osteoporosis Center at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. "There's a great deal you can do to prevent it, a great deal you can do to treat it."

Osteoporosis gradually causes bones to more porous and fragile and is linked to about 1.5 million bone fractures each year. About 80 percent of those who have it are women, mostly 60 and older.

Actress Ann-Margret
Actress Ann-Margret, 60, encourages women to get tested for osteoporosis  

Medical experts say bone-density tests, which measure bone thickness in various parts of the body, are the most effective way to gauge someone's risk for osteoporosis.

"I want to tell everyone that the bone-density test is quick and easy and non-invasive," actress Ann-Margret, the campaign spokeswoman, said Tuesday on CNN. "All you take off is your shoes."

Treatment options growing

The procedure involves lying on a table and being scanned with an x-ray-like device -- patients can learn their results within 10 minutes. Medicare covers the tests for eligible women over 65.

According to the survey of 400 women ages 60 to 69, 46 percent had not gotten a bone-density test, and 69 percent of them said no one had ever suggested it to them.

"I did not know about these bone density tests until last year. I was shocked to know women in my age group did not know about it either," the actress said.

If you're diagnosed with osteoporosis, you need to make sure you get the right about of calcium and vitamin D, stay active and consult with a doctor to determine the best treatment options.

They include estrogen replacement therapy and a variety of drugs that increase bone density and help reduce fractures.

"The good news is we now have a range of therapies which we didn't used to have," Siris said.






RELATED STORIES:
RELATED SITES:
• National Council on the Aging
• National Osteoporosis Foundation

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.


 Search   

Back to the top