Why did the old man, who was in good health, die soon after falling down?

In the past two days, many places have welcomed snowfall. While the heavy snow brings beautiful scenery, it also brings a series of dangers -

The roads are slippery after snow, and you may fall if you are not careful. Some people may just stand up and be fine, but some people, especially the elderly, may break bones after falling. According to Beijing Youth Daily, on December 11, the proportion of patients with falls after snow at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital increased significantly. As of 17:00, the three hospital districts had received a total of 116 patients with falls.

Image source: A short video platform

It is not just falling. Some people may also suddenly break bones after sneezing, coughing violently, or lifting heavy objects. These conditions that sound a bit incredible are not uncommon in clinical practice, and the reason for these conditions is likely to be osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis, the "silent killer"

Osteoporosis is the most common bone disease. It is a systemic bone disease characterized by low bone mass and damaged bone tissue microstructure, which leads to increased bone fragility and susceptibility to fractures.

Osteoporosis has three "typical symptoms":

Lower back pain: Many people may mistakenly think that it is caused by lumbar muscle strain, herniated disc, etc.

Shortening of height. Many elders become hunched and stooped as they age, indicating that they have osteoporosis.

Fragility fractures. Fragility fractures can be directly diagnosed as osteoporosis.

However, not all osteoporosis patients will have these symptoms. Many osteoporosis patients do not feel obvious symptoms in the early stages of the disease. For this reason, osteoporosis is also called the "silent killer" by doctors.

Because if you fall in the case of osteoporosis, it is easy to cause fractures. Common fracture sites are mainly hip joints, spine, wrists, etc., with hip joint fractures being the most serious.

According to a survey, about 200,000 middle-aged and elderly people in my country suffer hip fractures due to osteoporosis every year. Among them, 33% of patients with hip fractures are completely dependent on caregivers or live in nursing homes in the following year, with a greatly reduced quality of life, and 20% to 24% of patients die as a result.

In our country, falls are the leading cause of injury-related death among people over 65 years old.

Although osteoporosis is the most common bone disease among middle-aged and elderly people, this does not mean that only middle-aged and elderly people will suffer from osteoporosis. In fact, due to problems such as bad living habits, young people are becoming a high-risk group for osteoporosis.

Lack of exercise, unreasonable diet structure, picky eating or excessive dieting, frequent smoking and drinking... these may all result in "osteoporosis at a young age".

It is particularly important to note that women are more prone to osteoporosis than men, especially older and underweight women.

After menopause, female hormone secretion decreases sharply, accelerating bone loss. The prevalence rate of women over 50 years old is 32.1%, and the prevalence rate of women over 65 years old is as high as 51.6%.

How to prevent osteoporosis

Regarding osteoporosis, we first need to make it clear that osteoporosis is preventable and treatable. In addition, we also need to realize that osteoporosis prevention is for all ages. Don't wait until you are old to "cram for it" and develop good eating and living habits from an early age.

1. Increase the intake of calcium and appropriate protein in the diet, and eat a low-salt diet.

2 Stay away from tobacco and alcohol, and drink less strong tea, coffee and carbonated drinks.

3. Exercise moderately

Muscle activity can stimulate bone tissue and make bones stronger. Exercise also helps to enhance the body's responsiveness, improve balance and reduce the risk of falling.

4. Get more sun

The vitamin D in Chinese people's diet is very limited. A large amount of vitamin D3 needs to be synthesized by the skin after being exposed to ultraviolet rays from the sun. Regular exposure to sunlight plays a very critical role in the production of vitamin D and calcium absorption. The average normal person gets at least 20 minutes of sunlight per day.

Tip: Sunscreen and parasols can also increase the risk of osteoporosis in women.

5. Take calcium and vitamin D supplements

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People at high risk of osteoporosis

Self-Test

If you are not sure whether you are at high risk of osteoporosis, you can try to answer the following 10 questions. If you answer "yes" to any of them, you need to be vigilant:

1.Have you ever injured your bones due to a minor collision or fall?

2. Have you taken hormone drugs for more than 3 consecutive months?

3. Is your height three centimeters shorter than when you were young?

4. Do you often drink excessively? (Drink twice a day, or only 1-2 days a week without drinking)

5. Do you smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day?

6. Do you often have diarrhea? (caused by celiac disease or enteritis)

7. Have your parents ever suffered a hip fracture from a minor collision or fall?

8. Female answer: Did you go through menopause before the age of 45?

9. Have you ever had no menstrual period for more than 12 consecutive months (except during pregnancy)?

10. Male answer: Do you suffer from symptoms such as impotence or lack of sexual desire?

For postmenopausal women, you can also use the following formula for a simple judgment.

However, this Asian Osteoporosis Self-Screening Tool (OSTA) is based on a study of postmenopausal women in eight countries and regions in Asia. The sample size is not very large and needs to be combined with other risk factors for judgment.

OSTA index = (weight/k-age/years) × 0.2

Image source: Hebei CDC

Some common misconceptions about osteoporosis

1Can drinking bone soup prevent osteoporosis?

Experiments have shown that the calcium content in the same bowl of milk is much higher than that in a bowl of bone soup. For the elderly, bone soup dissolves a lot of fat in the bones, and frequent consumption may cause other health problems. Pay attention to the diversification of diet, eat less greasy food, insist on drinking milk, and do not consume too much protein and caffeine.

2To treat osteoporosis, is calcium supplementation necessary?

Simply put, osteoporosis is caused by abnormal bone metabolism (osteoclasts in the human body have a greater impact than osteoblasts, and the rate of bone absorption exceeds the rate of bone formation). Therefore, the treatment of osteoporosis is not simply calcium supplementation, but a comprehensive treatment to increase bone mass, enhance bone strength and prevent fractures. Patients should go to a regular hospital for diagnosis and treatment.

3Is it not advisable for patients with osteoporosis to exercise?

Maintaining normal bone density and bone strength requires constant exercise stimulation. Lack of exercise will cause bone loss. Physical exercise plays a positive role in preventing osteoporosis. In addition, if you do not pay attention to physical exercise, osteoporosis will occur, muscle strength will also decrease, and the stimulation to the bones will be further reduced. This will not only accelerate the development of osteoporosis, but also affect the flexibility of the joints, making it easy to fall and cause fractures.

References

[1]http://www.nhc.gov.cn/wjw/jbyfykz/201304/2fb324d3cc0947bc9b7cf9b84fc5c851.shtml

This article is a work of Science Popularization China-Starry Sky Project

Produced by: Science Popularization Department of China Association for Science and Technology

Producer｜China Science and Technology Press Co., Ltd., Beijing Zhongke Xinghe Culture Media Co., Ltd.

Author: Uncle Panda, a popular science creator

Reviewer: Tang Qin, Director and Researcher of the Science Popularization Department of the Chinese Medical Association