August 03, 2008	Sunday	Rajab 30, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Aug 2: Experts here on Saturday warned that incidence of osteoporosis, a deadly bone disease, was increasing in Asia at an alarming rate.

Speaking at a seminar organised by the Rawalpindi/Islamabad Chapter of Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), they urged the government to launch a public awareness campaign about the silent disease with serious consequences on the pattern of the drive against HIV and Malaria.

Prominent orthopedic surgeons Dr Aamer Nur, Dr Rizwan Hameed Malik and Dr Mansoor Ali Khan expressed their views on the disease illustrating their viewpoint with video slides.

They said the Asians are at high risk of osteoporosis as more than half of the world's cases of hip fractures due to decreased bone mass would be in this continent by 2050, up from around 30 percent in 1990. Of 6.25 million hip fracture cases expected by 2050, about 3.25 million or 52 per cent will be in Asia, they added.

In this part of the world, there is a lack of key data needed to convince policymakers that osteoporosis is a serious burden on the population and that it makes sense to invest in prevention measures.

Osteoporosis leads to bone fragility and an increased susceptibility to fractures, especially of the hip, spine, and wrist. Fracture rate increases rapidly with age.

The disease, which afflicts women more than men, is characterised by decrease in bone mass, causing bones to become brittle and break easily. Between 10 to 20 per cent of patients sustaining a hip fracture die within a year and among those who survive, almost two-thirds remain disabled.

The ageing population in the continent also means more cases of the disease and an addition to the burden on the region's health care system.

The experts said up to 50 per cent of women sustain an osteoporosis-related fracture in their lives. Up to 24 per cent of women who experience a hip fracture die within a year.

In the disease, bone mineral density (BMD) is reduced, bone micro architecture disrupted, and the amount and variety of non-collagenous proteins in bone altered.

The experts said the disease can be prevented with lifestyle change and sometimes medication.