2004 Press Releases
Health Night Explores Osteoporosis Prevention ROME – “Osteoporosis – The Silent Disease” will be the topic of Rome Memorial Hospital’s Health Night Lecture at 7 p.m. on Thursday, December 2 in the hospital’s classroom. Sharon Carson, assistant director of the hospital’s Medical Imaging Department and medical imaging technologist Desiree Edgar, will lead the lecture. Carson and Edgar will discuss the risk factors of osteoporosis, methods of prevention and treatment. “Osteoporosis is often called the ‘silent disease’ because bone loss occurs without symptoms,” said Carson. “People may not know that they have osteoporosis until their bones become so weak that a sudden strain, bump or fall causes a fracture or a vertebra to collapse,” she added. “Osteoporosis is not an old ladies’ disease,” said Carson. “It’s typically diagnosed when there’s been a broken bone, but the disease has slowly been eroding the bones years before it’s detected.” Osteoporosis is a disease characterized by loss of bone mass that can lead to fragile bones that break easily. Osteoporosis is a major public health threat for an estimated 44 million Americans, or 55 percent of the people 50 years of age and older, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation. In the U.S. today, 10 million individuals are estimated to already have the disease and almost 34 million more are estimated to have low bone mass, placing them at increased risk for osteoporosis. The hips, spine and wrist are the most common osteoporosis-related fractures. “Osteoporosis is highly preventable,” Carson said. “And it’s never too late to do something to address this disease and stop the bone loss.” Advance registration is not required for the free Health Night lecture, which will be held in the hospital’s classroom, located on the first floor. For additional information, please call the hospital’s Education Department at 338-7143. | 