Assessment of the importance of physical activity and quality of life for patients diagnosed with osteoporosis during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Introduction. Osteoporosis is one of the most important ten diseases worldwide, still causing extreme suffering to patients and huge costs to the health system. The rapid increase of the population 's aging was involved in many aspects of human health, and, among these ones, osteoporosis was one of the main public health issues. The aim of the study was to assess the importance of physical activity and the quality of life in patients diagnosed with osteoporosis during the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and methods. The study is longitudinal, it was conducted in an outpatient setting for a period of 1 year and it included 20 patients diagnosed with osteoporosis. The demographic variables (age, living environment, body mass index) were assessed, and as parameters: pain (VAS scale), fracture risk (FRAX score), quality of life (Qualeffo-41 questionnaire), bone mineral density at the spine and at the femur (DEXA). The patients received pharmacological treatment such as bisphosphonates and underwent physiotherapy for pains: low frequency currents (TENS), ultrasound and physical therapy. Results and discussions. In all the studied cases, it was considered that the pain decreased following the use of the medicinal and physiotherapeutic treatment. This is an expected result given that other studies have shown this. Postmenopausal women in Romania with osteoporosis have a lower HRQoL than healthy controls, measured with the SF-36 instrument and the total QUALEFFO-41 score. Conclusions. The obtained data point out the correlation between bone mineral density, fracture risks and exercises in patients diagnosed with osteoporosis. The FRAX score is useful to identify patients who need the combination of drug therapy and exercises to prevent vertebral and non-vertebral fractures in the next 10 years. Keywords: osteoporosis, physical activity, quality of life, COVID-19,