Involutional Osteoporosis: Sarcopenia, Frailty Syndrome and Falls

Abstract

Our society is doomed to struggle against pandemic of civilization diseases. One of the most common of them is osteoporosis. There are several reasons for it, one of the most significant of which is lengthening of human lifespan. In eighteenth century, life expectancy in Europe was 39 years, while two centuries later, it was already 80 years. In 1900, the age median in the USA was 23 years, and a century later, it was already 36 years. Civilization diseases in fact reflect maladaptation to this phenomenon. In connection with the longer life expectancy, the lifestyle of population in advanced countries has dramatically changed – starting from unhealthy dietary habits over to the development of technologies allowing substantial reduction of physical activity in most human activities. Pandemic incidence of involutional osteoporosis and its implications have therefore become in recent decades one of the main healthcare priorities. Although a number of diagnostic (DXA, FRAX) and therapeutic procedures have been developed, we are increasingly aware of the need for a comprehensive approach to what we call “osteoporosis” and its incorporation into the context of the current geriatric medicine [2, 5, 35].