13th Annual Osteoporosis Symposium held in Yerevan

The 13th annual Osteoporosis Symposium was held on October 9, at the Elite Plaza Business Center. More than 60 world-renowned specialists and 500 professionals from the regions of Armenia and Yerevan gathered to take part in the symposium. The key note lectures held speeches addressing the causes of osteoporosis, characteristics of treatment and prevention of osteoporosis, newest methods, as well as they talked about the importance of vitamin D.

There was a speech at the event International Osteoporosis Foundation CEO Philippe Halbout.

On behalf of IOF, I want to congratulate Prof. Bilezikian and Armenian Osteoporosis Association for the exemplary event that  organized this week.

As a matter of fact, the first day dedicated to the issue of Vitamin D was a big success and highlighted – if still necessary – that this topic is a broad and global one.

As the last year, the number of attendees in the second day dedicated to the HCP education illustrated the attractiveness of the program and the interest of this topic by the Armenian doctors.

We are all aligned on the fact that a synergy between the Armenian Osteoporosis Association and IOF might be beneficial first and foremost in Armenia, but also in the Eastern region more generally.

Many congratulations for all  efforts and we are looking forward to implementing new interactions in a close future.

 
Ambrish Mithal, an endocrinologist from India, held a lecture on '' Bone Disease in Diabetes''. During our conversation, Ambrish Mithalspoke briefly talked about his speeches held during the symposium and referred to the example of India.

 ''I've talked about 2 topics, one of which was about vitamin D deficiency in India. Regardless of the fact that India is a tropical country, there is a serious deficiency of vitamin D and calcium. This is related with the high level of air pollution, as a result of which, the skin does not receive the required amount of vitamin D. The problem was mainly found in newborns, pregnant women and the elderly. For the last 20 years, I and my colleagues have been conducting research throughout India for the purpose of collecting indicators and developing competent strategic steps to solve the problem. Since 2017, deficiency of vitamin D and calcium in India is being supplemented with milk. The project is implemented by the State. A number of milk manufacturing companies have started to add vitamin D and calcium supplements in dairy products.

I have also spoken about the risks for osteoporosis in patients with diabetes. Individuals in this group are in risk zone. They have 1,7 times much higher chances for  risk of bone fractures than others, thus I urge them to be examined regularly’’.

Carolina Moreira, a specialist from Brazil, highlighted her view on the development of osteoporosis.

‘’I highly support the view that osteoporosis is also the result of excessive overload on the skeletal system. In our country the problem is commonly found in athletes and dance artists. But this does not mean that this is the only problem. If a young person had a bone fracture 5 times in 2-3 years, he / she must undergo a complete bone examination to make sure that the problem is not related to bone growth and development or the amount of vitamin D in his/her body. Of course, Brazil is a tropical country, but many people often prefer to stay indoors and avoid the sun. Our team of endocrinologists regularly informs the public about the importance of bone disease, vitamin D and calcium, as well as provides them with guidelines for the prevention of bone fractures. "

Afshin Ostovar, a professor from Iran, noted that the problem in Iran is mainly related to high age.

‘’The age of approximately 30% of Iran's population is over 60. Therefore, age related vitamin D deficiency is also a common problem in our country. Approximately 50% of elderly people and more than 60% of women of the same age group have the same problem. It becomes clear from the above mentioned that osteoporosis is also widespread in our country especially among elderly people; therefore, bone fractures are a major issue for our society.

To prevent this, we have launched a number of awareness programs among students. In other words, we are trying to prevent vitamin D related problem at an early stage. As for osteoporosis, we have created and are creating clinical guidelines based on the characteristics of our country with the aim of raising awareness about osteoporosis and to reveal how important it is to prevent it at an early stage and start a course of treatment as soon as possible”.

Russian Osteoporosis Association President Olga Lesnyak gave a lecture on new approaches in using FRAX. As a result of the EVA project, Armenia has its own data that has been used for two years.

Professor Yelena Aghajanova, Head of Endocrinology Department at Yerevan State Medical University, held a speech on ‘’ Osteoporosis in young women. During our conversation she talked about different clinical manifestation of Osteoporosis.

‘’It was 20-30 years ago when it was first spoken about osteoporosis. The problem has gradually become more widespread among adults, women in post-menstrual age, including young people.

In Armenia, it has been talked about osteoporosis for the last 10 years. The effort has been made thanks to John P. Bilezikian who every year brings together the best world-renowned healthcare professionals in Armenia and informs us about the importance of this disease. Osteoporosis involves almost all medical directions: traumatology, gynecology, pediatrics, etc. This is so, as it may lead to the development of various diseases.

Diabetes prevention should start from early childhood by ensuring the required amount of vitamin D and teaching how to eat properly in the future.

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