The results came as a shock. Five years ago, Maria Tørø was diagnosed with severe osteoporosis. – I got the feeling that I just had to walk around and wait for the bang. When am I going to break something? Imagine a plate of chocolate Stratos full of air bubbles. This is what your bone looks like if you have osteoporosis. This is how the spine of crippled Maria looks like. Photo: Maria Tørø Around 300,000 Norwegians laugh at it and the dark figures are large. Women are most prone to osteoporosis. Women have lower bone mass than men. In addition, the production of the sex hormone estrogen stops during menopause. Sex hormones are important for building bones. After reaching the age of 50, it is estimated that half of women and a fifth of men will experience a crime. – I felt crushed The illness journey to Maria started already as a child. She had childhood arthritis and lacked growth hormone in her body. Maria has therefore not had optimal bone growth. In addition, in 2015 she was diagnosed with Addison’s disease. The disease meant that Maria had to go on cortisone, a treatment that can result in weaker bone mass. Three years later, she took a bone mineral density test. Then she found out that she was crippled. – At the beginning, I think it was very difficult. I felt more broken than I do now. Addison’s disease is a chronic disease. Maria is 100 percent disabled. Photo: Maria Tørø She struggled to find others in their 30s who were disabled. When she searched online, gymnastics for the elderly came up. She did not get an answer as to what she, as a mother of two, could do as a wheelchair user. Eventually she came across a learning and mastery course for skiers. Being open about the illness has become Maria’s coping strategy. On Instagram, the 35-year-old shares what it’s like to live with Addison’s disease and to be paralyzed. Staying active and being out in nature has become an important medicine for her, both for her physical and mental health. Maria says that taking care of your health is a full-time job. On the good days, she is active and is out in nature. On Instagram, she shares what it’s like to live with Addison’s disease and osteoporosis, and how she uses activity and the outdoors as medicine. Few receive medicine But physical activity is not enough. As a young cripple, Maria was among those who quickly received medicine. Not everyone gets that. Medicines against osteoporosis are cheap and effective and can almost halve the risk of new fractures. Nevertheless, few receive such treatment. Maria receives intravenous treatment with the medicine Aclasta. The medicine is what is called a bisphosphonate, which helps to slow down the breakdown of bone mass. This is how the spine of crippled Maria looks like. She has also taken the medicine Forsteo, which helps to build up bone density. – There is a large under-diagnosis of osteoporosis, says Anne Lise Olsen. She is a senior physician at the hormone department at Ahus. In addition, she leads the Norwegian Endocrinological Association’s osteoporosis group. Osteoporosis and fractures lead to large costs for society. For example, each hip fracture costs the health service NOK 1 million. With 9,000 hip fractures a year, that means NOK 9 billion annually. – I really hope that we can give this patient group more attention. Not least, we need new guidelines that ensure that patients receive equal treatment and follow-up. No matter what country they live in, says Olsen. Demand new guidelines There are guidelines for how the health service should prevent, treat and treat osteoporosis. These guidelines for the Norwegian Directorate of Health are now 18 years old. The experts believe they are obsolete. – We have gained a lot of new knowledge and there have been a number of new, effective forms of treatment. It is high time to update common, national guidelines, says Kristin Holvik, who researches osteoporosis at the Institute of Public Health. The Women’s Health Committee concludes the same in the report they presented this spring. In the report, one of the measures they proposed was to “prioritise preventive treatment of osteoporosis”. The committee estimates that the cost of the measure will cost NOK 70 million. – What we do today is much more expensive. Preventing osteoporosis is a cheaper measure than having to do many hip operations. That’s what Christine Meyer, who heads the women’s health committee and who is now city council leader (H) in Bergen, says. She is anxiously waiting for the government to present its women’s health strategy. Favorable prioritization State Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Care Karl Kristian Bekeng (Ap) says that the government “will prioritize women’s health” and that the women’s health strategy will be published next year. He also says that “the government will prioritize preventive treatment against osteoporosis”. – We know that if efforts are directed more in the direction of prevention and early and less resource-demanding efforts, this can contribute to reducing the challenges and the need for personnel in the health and care services in the future. Regarding the requested guidelines, Bekeng says that the Norwegian Directorate of Health is “in dialogue with the professional community, among other things, about the revision of the aforementioned guideline”. – In the dialogue, it is important to include representatives of the specialist health service and the municipal health service, says the state secretary.
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Maria Tørø (35) is disabled – experts now require updated guidelines – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
