Osteoporosis is a disease that affects many people as they age, but it is being seen in increasing frequency amongst aging people with HIV.
Dr. Erin N. Marcus writes for the Huffington Post:
HIV is thought to be associated with osteoporosis for a variety of reasons. The infection, itself, causes inflammation, which in turn impacts the cells that maintain bones. Many conditions common in people with HIV, such as Vitamin D deficiency, being underweight and low testosterone, are associated with osteoporosis. Antiretroviral therapy and other medications frequently prescribed to people with HIV, such as Prednisone, also cause bone loss.
Luckily, osteoporosis is a fairly straightforward disease to forestall and treat (as opposed to HIV). An article published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, and cited by Dr. Marcus, makes recommendations for maintaining bone health and strength. Recommendations include getting 1,000 to 1,500 mg of calcium and 800 to 1,000 IUs of Vitamin D daily along with 30 minutes of weight-bearing exercise.
People don't usually know they have osteoporosis until they finally fracture or break a bone, so the authors of the article say men over 50 that are HIV positive and women past menopause should get a screening for osteoporosis.
Read the whole article at the Huffington Post.
