According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF), the cost of treating bone fractures caused by osteoporosis (a disease that debilitates your bones) will reach $2 billion dollars by 2025. This is a major increase considering that only five years ago the figure was closer to $754 millions.

The incidence of osteoporosis among Hispanics—especially among women—has increased greatly over the last few years. In fact, eight out of the 10 million people who suffer from osteoporosis in the United States are women. And, according to the NOF, 10% of all Hispanic women aged 50 or over have osteoporosis, and 49% have low bone mass.

“It seems that Hispanic women are at a higher risk than Anglo women; yet we still don’t know why. It’s possible that the incidence of diabetes, poverty or lack of knowledge about the disease could have something to do with,” said Dr. Julio González, an orthopedic surgeon and member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Other factors that could increase the risk of developing osteoporosis are: genetic heritage, a diet low in calcium and vitamin D, smoking, lack of physical exercise, and alcohol consumption.

“Women need to take care of themselves at a younger age. With teenagers, we must ensure they follow a diet rich in calcium and get 15 minutes of sun per day--it’s very important for vitamin D absorption,” Dr. González said.

According to Dr. González, young women that manage to build strong bones by the age of 18, will have more defenses against osteoporosis when they’re older, especially after menopause, when the loss of bone mass is accelerated due to a decline in estrogen levels. (Estrogen is a hormone that helps protect bones.)

Strong bones

Bone development occurs in stages. From the moment you’re born until your early teens, your bones reconstruct very rapidly; however, it isn’t until women turn 18 and men turn 20 that their total bone mass is developed. From then on, bone mass is lost with age.

“Whatever we do when we’re young has serious consequences in our adulthood. If we don’t consume enough calcium or we don’t eat a balanced diet, we’ll suffer the consequences in the future,” said Eva Paz-Ono, coordinator of Bone Builders, a program that offers information in English and Spanish about osteoporosis.

According to Paz-Ono, small changes in our diet can have huge effects. Apart from milk and dairy products, there are lots of foods that contain calcium such as broccoli and tofu.

“We provide creative recipes, for example, on how to prepare tofu tacos or how to eat more seafood. Many people say to me: ‘I eat a lot of sardines,’ but they get rid of the bones. Bones contain lots of calcium. They are getting rid of calcium,” Paz-Ono said.

A silent disease

In most cases, osteoporosis can be treated with prescription drugs, but if it’s not treated properly or in time, patients may realize they have osteoporosis until they break or fracture a bone.

“There are no symptoms. That is the problem. X-rays are not precise enough to detect the disease. The first symptoms usually occur when the disease is in its most advanced stage,” said Dr. González.

Even though osteoporosis can effectively attack any of the 206 bones in our body, most of bone fractures caused by the disease occur in the hips, spine and wrists.

Shake your skeleton

Physical exercise can reduce the risk of osteoporosis and can prevent the loss of bone mass. Experts believe walking, swimming, climbing stairs and, if possible, running and dancing, are the best ways to prevent osteoporosis.

“People have come in using a walker and then walked out without one. We usually tell our elderly visitors: ‘If you don’t use them (bones) you’ll lose them’. You can change the color of your hair and eyes, but you cannot buy your bones in a store, so let’s start moving,” said Paz-Ono.

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