54.4% of people over 50 years of age suffer from osteopenia and 10.7% from osteoporosis.

He 54.4 percent belonging more than 50 years in Spain they are suffering osteopenia And 10.7 percent osteoporosisaccording to the latest study Spanish Society of Rheumatology (SER) on the epidemiology of osteoporosis in the Spanish population, known as the OsteoSER project.

“Currently, 782 fragility fractures occur every day in the Spanish population, but only 36 percent of these people receive treatment for osteoporosis,” says the doctor. Laya Guifrefrom the Rheumatology Service of the German Hospital Trias and Pujol, as part of World Osteoporosis Day, which was celebrated on October 20.

By gender, the OsteoSER project confirms that osteoporosis is much more common among women (18.6 percent) than among men (2.6 percent). According to Carmen Gómez Vaquero, principal investigator of the study and member of the Rheumatology Service at Bellvitge University Hospital, “These results are very useful for calculating the resources that should be allocated to the prevention of fragility fractures in the national health care system.”

Among the population at highest risk of fractures, women aged 65 and older have 24.9 percent of osteoporosis, Gomez said. If data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) is taken into account, the absolute number rises to 1,300,021 Spanish women at high risk of fractures.

In addition, the specialist noted that the study also provides data on people under 50 years of age. However, 96.7 percent had bone mineral density (BMD) within the range expected for their age. In turn, a larger proportion of men (5.4 percent) had lower BMD than expected, compared with 1.2 percent of women.

Regarding this issue, Dr. Enrique Casado from the Parque Tauli University Hospital assured that “it seems that the number of young men and women, even under the age of 50, diagnosed with osteoporosis is increasing.” Among the reasons, he pointed out that some young people have unhealthy habits, such as a sedentary lifestyle, less sun exposure or less consumption of dairy products. “It also seems that due to more pollution, food manipulation, infections, stress, etc., the incidence of autoimmune diseases is increasing, which, both due to the disease itself and due to certain treatments such as corticosteroids , is associated with a higher incidence of osteoporosis and fractures,” he added.

“Mad About My Bones” Campaign

In order to increase knowledge about this pathology, SER, through the Spanish Rheumatology Foundation, launched a campaign crazy about your bones emphasize the importance of acquiring healthy habits to prevent osteoporosis, such as exercise, a Mediterranean diet that includes adequate intake of calcium and vitamin D, and avoidance of smoking and excessive alcohol consumption, among other factors.

When it comes to exercise, experts recommend high-impact aerobic and strength-training exercises (with resistance) to maintain good muscle and bone health. “Exercise programs usually include 20–30 minutes of aerobic and strength exercises, performed regularly 2–3 days a week, always adapted to the characteristics of each person,” explains rheumatologist Raquel Almodóvar from the Alcorcón Foundation University Hospital.