Healthy morale promotes healthy bones. Happy women are less likely to develop osteoporosis than stressed women, according to Finnish researchers. Osteoporosis is a disease that causes a decrease in bone density and increases the risk of fractures. She touches the men and women and is identified through bone densitometry (a test that measures bone density).
Researchers at Kuopio University Hospital (Finland) analyzed the medical data of 2,167 women followed as part of a demographic study onosteoporosis started in 1989. Their bone density was measured at the start of the study and in 2009. They also assessed the mental health and well-being of the participants. The women were divided into three groups, satisfied, neutral or dissatisfied.
Happiness is health
The results of the study reveal that in 10 years the bone density had decreased by 4% and that the women who saw their morale decrease recorded an 85% greater drop in bone density than women whose well-being had improved. .
Lack of physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, an unbalanced diet andobesity melt bone density and increase the risk of osteoporosis. For the Finnish researchers, psychological criteria should also be taken into account. Because they can also have harmful effects on the bones and cause osteoporosis.
“Promoting the well-being of older people on a daily basis is just as important as recommendations for healthy living. Well-being seems to have a significant impact on bone health,” explains Heli-Tuulie Koivumaa-Honkanen, from the Department of Psychiatry at Kuopio University Hospital.
To find out more about your risk of osteoporosis, there is a complete questionnaire to assess your risk of fracture at the site of the Grio (Group for research and information on osteoporosis).
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