Men's Osteoporosis Support GroupTo participate in an online research project Click here. Multiple osteoporosis studies Internet adolescent osteoporosis education Health Promot Pract. 2008 Dec 19. [Epub ahead of print], Using the Internet to Educate Adolescents About Osteoporosis: Application of a Tailored Web-Education System.. Schoenfeld ER and others. PMID: 19098263. This study evaluated the effect of an interactive educational Web site to increase adolescents' knowledge of osteoporosis and to change their behaviors in favor of healthy bone development. Eighty-nine students completed the pre- and post-intervention tests with the Web-based program between the two tests. There was a significant improvement in knowledge after the Web program. The authors concluded, "The study shows that an interactive educational Web site is an effective method for increasing awareness and understanding of osteoporosis in high school students." Editor's comments: Today's youth are very Web-centered, so a Web-based osteoporosis education system directed toward young adults is a great concept. It is felt that, to a great degree, what we do before we reach perhaps age 25 to 30 is very important in building healthy bones that will last us a lifetime. Prevention of osteoporosis and fractures is far superior to treating them after they occur. Giving youngsters the diet, exercise and lifestyle ideas needed to maintain healthy bones for life should pay great dividends in adulthood. I checked online for an interactive tutorial and found one at Checkup On Your Bones. It didn't have a segment directed to young adults, rather was a general Web site that centered around the visitor answering questions about their age, weight, etc., that would then categorize their osteoporosis risk. It didn't test their knowledge regarding bone-healthy practices, but gave tips that suggested a behavior was positive or negative for bone health when one was checked. I like the idea of a before and after test, which I wish this site would use, with perhaps a separate test according to the visitor's age. And they could highlight important information for each age via test questions. If you fail the pretest that could be followed up with the consequences of osteoporosis-related fractures, that would give an incentive to learn what to do to prevent osteoporosis. Thus the post-test score would have more significance. Diabetes and fracture risk Calcif Tissue Int. 2008 Dec 9. [Epub ahead of print], Diabetes and Its Complications and Their Relationship with Risk of Fractures in Type 1 and 2 Diabetes. Vestergaard P, Rejnmark L, Mosekilde L. PMID: 19067021. This was a case-control study comparing 124,655 fracture cases to 373,962 age- and sex-matched controls. Although the findings were complex, overall the authors felt that both type 1 (T1D) and type 2 (T2D) diabetic patients are probably at increased risk for fracture at some time after their diagnosis. They stated, "We conclude that diabetes, whether T1D or T2D, seems to carry an increased risk of fractures, and complications to diabetes except for diabetic kidney disease add little to the overall risk of fracture, perhaps pointing at a common risk factor linked to the high blood glucose levels, which may weaken bone strength." Editor's comments: This study isn't definitive in its suggestion that T1D and T2D are fracture risk factors, but diabetic individuals would probably be doing themselves good by taking all the right precautions to avoid falls and to perform weight-bearing exercise routinely along with having a good diet. Actually these practices have been shown effective in preventing T2D in a recent Cochrane Review article by Orozco LJ and others, PMID: 18646086. So these people should at least discuss these two studies with their care providers since there could be benefits both regarding their T2D and fracture prevention. Older diabetic individuals might request a baseline dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) test to see if they have normal bone mineral density. Once again, prevention is far better than treating a fracture after the fact. Hypertension is a risk factor for fractures Calcif Tissue Int. 2008 Dec 5. [Epub ahead of print], Hypertension Is a Risk Factor for Fractures. Vestergaard P, Rejnmark L, Mosekilde L. PMID: 19067019. Vestergaard P, Rejnmark L, Mosekilde L. This is the same group using the same protocol as the diabetes study above. They looked at multiple cardiovascular pathoses and medications that individuals take for those conditions to see their relationship to fracture risk. They concluded, ". . .hypertension and stroke seem to be the major cardiovascular risk factors for fractures, whereas acute myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation, and deep venous thromboembolism seem to be only minor risk factors." They also noted that antihypertensive medications as a class are associated with a decreased risk of fractures. Editor's comments: A recent study by Aizawa K and others, PMID: 19097666, found short-term (24-week) beneficial effects on arterial stiffness and fasting blood glucose levels in pre-metabolic syndrome patients. This might indicate that diet and exercise are alternatives to antihypertensive medications, especially in early hypertension or T2D patients. So discuss this as an option with your care provider as a potential three-fold reward: reduced hypertension, reduced T2D, and reduced fracture risk. Whole grain consumption and osteoporosis risk Med Food. 2008 Dec;11(4):747-52. Phytate (myo-inositol hexaphosphate) and risk factors for osteoporosis. López-González AA and others. PMID: 19053869. This study used diet questionnaires and bone density testing to see if there was a correlation between phytate derived from whole grains and osteoporosis. The authors found, "Phytate consumption had a protective effect against osteoporosis, suggesting that low phytate consumption should be considered an osteoporosis risk factor." Editor's comments: It would be nice to see some controlled clinical trials that get the same results to verify this research. However, there appears to be nothing to lose by assuming their findings are accurate. I'm aware of almost no benefit to refining whole grains, in fact, there are multiple problems that refining causes. Here is an abstract of an article in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition by Steffen LM and others. It involves an 11-year epidemiological study regarding coronary artery disease (CAD) and whole grains, fruit and vegetable consumption that found, "Over an 11-y follow-up period, whole-grain intake was inversely associated with total mortality and incident CAD." Here is another article by Teresa T Fung and Frank B Hu in that journal with multiple references to other studies that have abstracts or free full text if you want more information on this topic. Here is a reference that shows that diverticulosis is virtually nonexistent in countries where grains are not milled, and was not a problem in modern countries until the early 20th century when grain milling (refining) began. So it appears there are multiple reasons to eat whole grains, with helping prevent osteoporosis now added to the list. Should elderly men be fat or lean? Osteoporos Int. 2008 Dec 4. [Epub ahead of print], Effects of lean and fat mass on bone mineral density and arterial stiffness in elderly men. Benetos A and others. PMID: 19052830. This study was done to evaluate the influence of fat and lean mass on both arterial stiffness and bone mass density (BMD) in elderly men (over age 60). The authors found, "Our results indicate that elderly men with high lean mass and low fat mass exhibit the best arterial and bone profile with the lowest arterial stiffness and the highest BMD." Editor's comments: This is another article in this group that dictates toward exercise and healthy diet for multiple heath reasons. In this study lean body mass lead to a healthier arterial and bone profile. So think of protecting your bones with proper diet and exercise while reaping other health benefits, too. Just remember that weight-bearing exercise is what is protective of bones: walking, jogging, weight lifting and similar activities. Talk to your health care provider before starting a new exercise routine.
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