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Review on February 02, 2010
 Osteoporosis is a disease that weakens bone mass and is a common early menopause symptom. Osteoporosis is a growing problem in today´s society and this study investigates what can be done to better inform women about preventing this common early menopause symptom. This article discusses the specific issue of osteoporotic fracture and how early intervention can help deal with this particular early menopause symptom. It surveys women undergoing all three stages of menopause and their experiences with regards to osteoporosis, a serious and often debilitating disease and reported early menopause symptom.
Women going through menopause are particularly at risk of osteoporosis and this disease can be one of the early menopause symptoms. Many health organizations feel that rates of osteoporotic fracture can be reduced by using accessible interventions to prevent, diagnose, and treat it. The National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) believes that physicians should counsel women on the risk factors for osteoporosis, a frequent early menopause symptom. Furthermore, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) advises that all perimenopausal and postmenopausal women should discuss hormone replacement therapy with their physician as a means of prevention.
Groups most likely to be affected by osteoporosis include women aged 65 years and over, all postmenopausal women younger than 65 years who have 1 or more additional risk factors, postmenopausal women with fractures, women considering therapy for osteoporosis as an early menopause symptom, and women who have undergone extended periods of hormone replacement therapy.
Respondents of this survey were asked to specify their individual early menopause symptoms such as hot flashes, difficulty sleeping, and poor memory. Findings showed that discussions about preventive measures for osteoporosis were lowest among premenopausal women, who are prone to early menopause symptoms. Discussions were higher among perimenopausal women but fairly uncommon among postmenopausal women, who are most likely to have undertaken hormone replacement therapy.
 Thus, counseling for premenopausal and perimenopausal women about how best to prevent osteoporosis can be radically increased. Despite being a common early menopause symptom, age-related decrease in bone mass occurs before menopause and many premenopausal and perimenopausal women can have low bone mass. Taking sufficient amounts of calcium and vitamin D can help to offset decreased bone mass as an early menopause symptom.
Generally, women are consulted about osteoporosis during the postmenopausal period or from age 50 years onward, during which time they may have undergone hormone replacement therapy. Yet, osteoporosis is a familiar early menopause symptom and commonly associated with this stage of a woman´s life. This study shows that greater intervention may improve the diagnosis and treatment rates of this disease, including the available treatments beyond hormone replacement therapy.
It is evident that current osteoporosis-related practices can be vastly improved in order to try and combat this disease, a frequent early menopause symptom. Counseling for premenopausal and perimenopausal women needs to be improved above all. Although it is a common early menopause symptom, osteoporosis generally occurs before menopause and women should be guided as to how they can help prevent this early on. More research is needed into this growing health problem as an early menopause symptom.
- SOURCES: JAMA - The Journal of the American Medical Association - Arch Intern Med. 2002;162:450-456.
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