Surgeon general targets bone health

Fractures after age 45 that come from moderate trauma should serve as red flags that a patient is at risk for additional breaks.

By Susan J. Landers, AMNews staff. Nov. 8, 2004.

Washington -- The U.S. surgeon general has asked the nation's physicians to join in a collective effort to help Americans maintain healthy bones by being alert to early indications of bone loss among their patients.

Osteoporosis and other bone diseases, such as Paget's disease and osteogenesis imperfecta, can lead to a downward spiral in physical health and quality of life and even premature death, according to a new surgeon general's report on bone health and osteoporosis released Oct. 14.

"Osteoporosis isn't just your grandmother's disease. We all need to take better care of our bones," said Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona, MD, MPH.

"The good news is that you are never too old or too young to improve your bone health."

Poor bone health is implicated in 1.5 million fractures each year in the United States among both men and women, according to the report, and the nation's aging population virtually ensures that millions more will be at increased risk for fractures from osteoporosis and low bone mass unless they take preventive action.

Although primary care physicians are always having to deal with "the problem of the moment," said Laura Tosi, MD, an orthopedic surgeon and board member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the evaluation of bone health should be made a routine part of an annual physicals.

"We now know that bone density is a better predictor of longevity than is cholesterol level," she said.