Madurai based Devadoss Hospitals, a leader in Orthopaedicsis celebrating World Osteoporosis Day today with this year’s theme “Step Up for Bone Health”. This theme was announced by World Health Organization (WHO) for the year 2023.The hospital is taking every effort to promote and make aware the importance of protecting bones from fractures particularly for post-menopausal women.
In India alone, osteoporosis-related fractures are estimated to affect nearly 1.5 million people annually, with the majority of these fractures occurring in post-menopausal women. This is a significant health concern for post-menopausal women in India.
In a recent study, it was stated the overall prevalence of osteoporotic fractures amongst post-menopausal women stood at a staggering 82.2%. Of this, Osteoporosis constitute 37.5% and Osteopenia 44.7%. The overall osteoporosis for females is estimated to be around 25% to 30%.
“This is a wakeup call for every hospital that specializes in Orthopaedics to expect more women coming with complaints of fractures. To share a few numbers:nearly 90,000 women in this stage are likely to encounter hip fractures each year of which a substantial portion of these cases involves post-menopausal women,” said Dr. Sathish Devadoss, Vice Chairman, Devadoss Hospital, Madurai while promoting the Step up for Bone Health theme at the hospital.
“Sadly, Osteoporosis often goes undiagnosed in India, with studies suggesting that only about 20% of individuals who should receive treatment for osteoporosis actually do. This is not done intentionally, but we have found there is a lack of awareness with the majority of the public, especially in the rural areas never having come across the word “Osteoporosis”. These numbers underscore the significance of the issue and the need for increased awareness, preventive measures, and better healthcare infrastructure to address osteoporosis, particularly in post-menopausal women in India” Dr. Sathish Devadoss added.
Not surprisingly, South India as a region have a higher number of cases being reported with over 30% of post-menopausal women having osteoporosis in some regions. Nearly, 20,000 of hip fractures is reported as the dietary habits in South India is a predominantly vegetarian diet with limited dairy consumption leading to a higher risk of osteoporosis due to potential calcium deficiency.
It is equally important that every hospital promotes and makes aware the importance of bone health. To bring in awareness, we have tied up with schools in and around Madurai for their students to imagine and draw their own orthopaedic surgical robot. The contest is applicable for students from 5th to 9th standard and 30 best entries will be invited to our hospital to witness South Tamil Nadu’s First Joint Replacement Robotic System apart from bagging certificates and winning awards,” said Dr Sathish Devadoss, Vice Chairman, Devadoss Hospital, Madurai.
“It was hardly two months back that we launched the CUVIS Joint robot system for artificial joint surgery. This machine is one of the most advanced robot machines in the world,” he added.