You may be unaware that you are already suffering from osteoporosis, according to Dr. Tito P. Torralba.

Dr. Torralba, the founding president of the Osteoporosis Society of the Philippines who co-authored the Osteoporosis Tool for Asians (OSTA), said "osteoporosis literally means porous bones. It is a silent, progressive and debilitating illness which makes bones become thinner, more fragile and more likely to break especially in the areas of the spine, wrist or hip. Many come to realize that they have osteoporosis only when it has become severe. This is because the illness progresses painlessly."

To understand osteoporosis, people need to know when bone growth generally takes place, becomes maximal, and when it starts to slowly diminish.

Bone formation and development starts in uteor or in the womb during the earliest part of an individual’s life. It continues to grow and develop throughout childhood and adolescence. During a person’s young adulthood (twenties), bone growth increases by 15 percent.

A person’s peak bone mass is achieved in mid-adult age (thirties). Thereafter, bone mass gradually diminishes and this bone loss is accelerated at menopause.

Studies show that at menopause, bone loss ranging from four to eight percent occurs in women without symptoms. Women lose up to 30 percent of bone mass in the first five years of menopause.

A possible result of osteoporosis is the collapse of the vertebral bones (compression fractures) as well as hip and other non-vertebral fracture.

In the Philippines, the National Statistics Office listed over nine million women aged 50 and above as suffering from the disease in 2004. This number will increase as many women remain undiagnosed.

Several techniques for early detection of bone loss have been developed in recent years. The gold standard among the diagnostic tools available is the dual-energy, X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) which measures bone mineral density.

Among the treatment agents is the class of drugs called oral biphosphonates (the once-monthly ibandronic acid) which can significantly reduce the risk of fractures as evidenced from clinical trial data.

In any patient given a treatment regimen, among the things that are important to consider are compliance, persistence and treatment adherence.

"There have been a number of significant advances in osteoporosis treatment in recent years," said Dr. Torralba, "however, improving patient adherence to treatment has the potential to have a far greater impact in tackling this widespread and serious disease."

Findings from these same studies, presented during the 26th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bone Mineral Research, suggest that a less frequent dosing regimen, such as a once-monthly ibandronic acid, improves adherence to the therapy.