Properties of Turkish Osteoporotic Women According to Risk Factor Assesment: A Multicenter Study

Abstract

Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disease characterized by a decreased bone mass and a deterioration in bone microarchitecture which causes an enhanced fragility of the skeleton and creates a greater susceptibility to fractures. With increases in life expectancy and in the number of elderly people bone loss and fractures are becoming more common in the all over the world. The purpose of this study is to determine chracteristics and risk factors of Turkish osteoporotic women and to assess the effect of different geographic areas on risk factors. Nine hundred and five osteoporotic women who have lived 6 different geographic areas were included in this study. The study was completed in 26 different centers and its duration was 6 months. The mean age of patients were 62±9 years. Although sixty percent of those patients belived that they knew consequences of osteoporosis 35% did not know. The most known symptoms of osteoporosis were fractures (33%), kyphosis and low back pain (23%). Most of the physicians who diagnosed opteoporosis for the first time were physiatrists (86%). Being a physiatrist, we have a great deal of responsibilities in osteoporosis. Finally, we suggest that to determine the characteristics of Turkish osteoporotic women which depend on many factors such as differences of geographic factors, only will be possible by evaluation of great number of osteoporotic women.

Keywords

• Osteoporosis
• risk factors