We’ve all heard the phrase that prevention is better than a cure, but how do we know what diseases to protect our wellness against in the first place, especially if there are no symptoms to indicate which conditions we could get.
Finding silent diseases
We might know we’re at risk of some silent diseases and can then change our lives to avoid getting them. If we’re obese, then we could be more likely to get heart disease or strokes, so eating healthily can give our wellbeing a boost and ward off these conditions. But osteoporosis is another silent disease, and we may end up getting it even though it is mostly preventable in the majority of people. This bone condition can occur for many different reasons and if several come together at once then we may get a severe case of the syndrome.
If we have osteoporosis it means our bone mineral density (BMD) is much lower than average, so we are vulnerable to fractures. We’re more likely to lose bone cells if we experience changes in hormones that help form bone, such as oestrogen and testosterone, and if someone in our family was diagnosed with the condition. These hormones may be affected by menopause, medications and gland problems. Also if we’re older then we have more chance of getting brittle bones as BMD begins to decrease as we age, with men over 70 and women over 50 potentially being at risk.
Looking for signs
The fact that the condition is linked to all these different factors means we have a greater idea of whether we’re likely to get osteoporosis or not. In fact, clinicians would like to see many of us taking calcium and Vitamin D to prevent the condition. There are few physical signs that we have the disease, some of us may stoop, or we could lose height quickly indicating problems with our spine. But otherwise we can ask our GPs about taking supplements and boosting our nutrition and exercise programmes to prevent us getting this syndrome in the first place.
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