Osteoporosis Information Easily Accessible at NIHSeniorHealth
Millions of older Americans suffer from osteoporosis, a disease that thins and
weakens bones to the point that they become fragile and break easily. Osteoporosis
is especially common in older women. One out of every two women and one in four
men over age 50 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in their lifetime,
most often breaking bones in the hip, spine, and wrist. To help people learn
more about this serious bone disease, information about the prevention and treatment
of osteoporosis has just been added to NIHSeniorHealth (www.nihseniorhealth.gov).
The NIHSeniorHealth Web site, which was designed especially for seniors, is a
joint effort of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the National Library
of Medicine (NLM), which are part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
of the Department of Health and Human Services.
“Osteoporosis, the major underlying cause of fractures in older people, is often
called a ‘silent’ disease because it progresses without symptoms,” says Stephen
I. Katz, M.D., Ph.D., director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal
and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), which developed the content for the osteoporosis topic
on NIHSeniorHealth. “The launch of the osteoporosis topic on NIHSeniorHealth
will give this condition a greater voice, benefiting thousands of older women
and men.”
One of the fastest growing age groups using the Internet, older Americans increasingly
turn to the World Wide Web for health information. In fact, 66 percent of “wired” seniors
surf for health and medical information when they go online. NIHSeniorHealth
is based on the latest research on cognition and aging. It features short, easy-to-read
segments of information that can be accessed in a variety of formats, including
various large-print type sizes, open-captioned videos, and an audio version.
Additional topics coming soon to the site include chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease, heart failure, and clinical trials. The site links to MedlinePlus, NLM’s
premier, more detailed site for consumer health information.
The NIA leads the Federal effort supporting and conducting research on aging
and the health and well-being of older people. The NLM, the world's largest
library of the health sciences, creates and sponsors Web-based health information
resources for the public and professionals. The NIAMS supports research into
the causes, treatment, and prevention of arthritis and musculoskeletal and
skin diseases. All three are components of the NIH in Bethesda, Maryland, part
of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's Medical Research
Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of
the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary Federal
agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical
research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common
and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov. |