Depression in the Elderly - Osteoporosis, pt 2
Continuing yesterday’s post about 15 factors that can influence your osteoporosis risk, I’d like to leave you with the rest of the list. Later I will address depression in the elderly in more depth!
7. fractured a bone as an adult - simple actions (stepping off the curb too hard) can lead to early fractures
8. calcium intake - if your calcium intake is chronically low, this is a problem; for adolescents it’s especially important to get enough to reach their genetic potential for peak bone mass
9. physical activity - weight bearing activity increases your bone mass, you can increase your bone mass with training. It takes a an increase in bone mass density of 3-5% to decrease your fracture rate by 20-30%, but a +/- 5% bone mass change is huge.
10. protein - there is a link here still being studied, but it has been shown before that an increase in protein shows there may be a loss of calcium in your urine.
11. alcohol & smoking – can decrease your bone mass
12. excess caffeine – caffeine in very high doses increases your calcium loss in urine
13. medication can weaken bones – steroids, anticonvulsants, synthetic thyroid hormones, and antidepressants
14. vitamin D – is absolutely necessary for calcium absorption. Sunlight will increase the manufacture of vitamin D in your body (10-15 minutes a day on face & arms WITHOUT sunscreen). Homebound people, persons over the age of 70, those living in the northern US/Canada and people who don’t eat enough dairy or vitamin D supplemented foods are recommended to supplement with tablets.
15. vitamin K – helps blood coagulate and is needed for the beginning of bone mineralization
December 15th, 2007 at 8:07 am
[...] in the Elderly - An Overview, I by Sarah Gould Last week I mentioned that I was going to do a series on depression in the elderly population, and I’m just now getting around to [...]