Misconceptions about anti-osteoporosis drug treatment——Be sure to pay attention!!!

Osteoporosis is a common bone disease. Women are more likely to suffer from osteoporosis than men, especially middle-aged postmenopausal women. Osteoporosis is a chronic bone disease that patients often discover only after a fracture. It is known as the "silent killer." One in three female patients over the age of 50 will experience an osteoporotic fracture. In my country, about 70 million people over the age of 50 suffer from osteoporosis. An osteoporotic fracture occurs around us every 3 seconds!

Therefore, prevention and active treatment are particularly important. Reasonable diet and regular life can effectively slow down the occurrence of osteoporosis fractures, but there are many inherent misconceptions that must be paid attention to.

Anti-osteoporosis——Four major misunderstandings of drug treatment

Myth 1: Osteoporosis only requires calcium supplementation

Patients think that calcium supplementation for osteoporosis is just calcium deficiency, and that taking some calcium tablets will cure it. Patients who think that calcium supplementation can prevent osteoporosis generally believe that the loss of bone calcium leads to the occurrence of osteoporosis. In fact, the loss of bone calcium is only one aspect of osteoporosis. Other factors such as low sex hormones, smoking, excessive drinking, excessive drinking of coffee and carbonated drinks, lack of physical activity, lack of calcium and vitamin D in the diet (low light or low intake) can all lead to osteoporosis. Therefore, calcium supplementation alone is far from enough.

Myth 2: You can just take either calcium or vitamin D

It is not acceptable to simply supplement calcium or vitamin D. Vitamin D can promote calcium absorption, and it is best to take them together. After calcium is ingested by the human body, it needs the assistance of vitamin D to be transported and absorbed. If osteoporosis patients simply supplement calcium tablets, the amount that can be absorbed is very small, and it cannot completely compensate for the calcium lost by the human body. Therefore, there is a phenomenon of aggravation of osteoporosis while supplementing calcium tablets. The best thing is to improve your lifestyle, get more sunlight, and eat foods rich in calcium.

Myth 3: Anti-osteoporosis drugs do not require calcium supplementation

Patients do not need to supplement calcium after taking anti-osteoporosis drugs. There are three main types of drugs for treating osteoporosis:

1. Bone formation promoter and anti-bone resorption agent: calcitriol (calcitriol, calcitriol)

2. Antiresorptive agents: bisphosphonates, hormone replacement therapy, calcitonin

3. Food supplements: vitamin D, calcium

Only by following the doctor's advice and taking a reasonable combination of medications can osteoporosis be effectively treated.

Myth 4: You can’t take calcium supplements if you have bone hyperplasia

In the elderly with degenerative osteoarthritis, bone hyperplasia and osteoporosis often coexist. Some people believe that calcium supplementation is inappropriate if bone hyperplasia (i.e. bone spurs) occurs.

In fact, the root cause of bone hyperplasia is calcium deficiency, which is caused by ectopic calcium deposition during the body's compensation process after osteoporosis. Calcium supplementation can correct the body's calcium deficiency, thereby partially correcting this abnormal process, reducing the formation of "bone spurs", and even making the already formed "bone spurs" smaller. Therefore, patients with bone hyperplasia still need calcium supplementation treatment.

In addition to calcium and vitamin D supplements, we also need to use some drugs that inhibit osteoclasts, such as alendronate, for patients with severe osteoporosis. Bone density tests once a year are also necessary. In terms of lifestyle care, patients should be advised to get more sun, eat a balanced diet, and exercise appropriately, so as to prevent the occurrence of osteoporosis through self-conditioning and prevent it from getting worse if it has already occurred.

References:

[1] The role of clinical pharmacists in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis[J]. Wei Runxin. China Pharmaceutical Industry. 2008(17)

[2] Community health education on osteoporosis[J]. Zhang Liping. Asia-Pacific Traditional Medicine. 2011(02)

[3] Eight Misconceptions about Osteoporosis[J]. Liu Ji. Farmer Consultant, 2016, (11): 63-64.

[4] Misconceptions about osteoporosis[J]. Chinese Journal of Endemic Disease Prevention and Control. 2014(01)