China faces great challenges in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis among its senior citizens, said a noted Chinese expert at the 2004 International Osteoporosis Conference which opened in Beijing Thursday.

Zhu Hanmin, deputy head of the Osteoporosis Foundation Committee of the Chinese Development Foundation for Science and Technology, said at the conference that with an aging population, China has more people susceptible to osteoporosis.

"According to the fifth national census in 2000, the total number of the aged will rise to 410 million, making up 27.4 percent of the total population," said Zhu.

He said that a study involving more than 55,000 people showed that the prevalence of osteoporosis was 16.1 percent. In the group aged 40 and over, 16.1 percent of men and 19.9 percent of women had the disease. In the group aged 60 and over, the prevalence was 15 percent in men and 28.6 percent in women.

The study involved about 7,182 people aged 20 and over, who received osteoporosis measurement, and 48,943 people aged 40 and over who answered questionnaires.

Zhu said China is a developing country and has to carefully carry out the work of osteoporosis prevention. It needs to encourage a healthy lifestyle and health education.

Chairman of the World Health Organization Osteoporosis Task Force Harry K. Genant said China needs to strengthen the quality of diagnosis and treating osteoporosis.

John A. Shepherd from the Radiology Department of the University of California at San Francisco said that in order to guarantee children's normal bone growth and prevent osteoporosis, it is necessary to measure BMD (bone mass density) in children.

Osteoporosis is a common disease that causes bones to break more easily and heal slowly. It is listed by the WHO as one of the three major health problems of middle-aged and elderly people.

Beginning from 1996, Oct. 20 is marked annually as the World Osteoporosis Day. Since 2000, China has held an international conference on osteoporosis each year. This year, 200 Chinese and foreign experts will give lectures and thesis at the conference.

The conference was sponsored by the Education Department of Medical Science and Technology of the Health Ministry of China, the Chinese Development Foundation for Science and Technology and the Hospital Administration Institute of the Health Ministry of China.

(Xinhua News Agency October 22, 2004)