presents

 

In Collaboration with

12:00 noon – 5:30 pm (SNDA AGM starts from 3.15 pm onward)

Saturday 24^nd April 2010

 

    Auditorium

    Alexandra Hospital

378 Alexandra Road,                

Singapore 159964

 

 

All SNDA members, please RSVP ONLINE at www.snda.org.sg or e-mail to ce@snda.org.sg by 16^th April 2010 for catering purposes.  Seats are limited and please RSVP via email if not SNDA members.

Continue Education Point

§  SNDA members –  2ce points

 

 

 

Dr Lau Tang Ching is currently working as a Consultant Rheumatologist in the Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine in NUHS. 

 

Dr Lau graduated in 1991 from the National University of Singapore and obtained his Membership of the Royal College of Physician in United Kingdom and the Master of Medicine (internal medicine) degree in 1997.  He started his advance training in rheumatology in the same year and has spent one year of fellowship training in Sydney, Australia on the topic of osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.  Dr Lau is a fellow of the Academy of Medicine Singapore since 2001 and the Royal College of Physician (Edinburgh) since 2004.  He also holds a Master of Medical Science degree in Clinical Epidemiology (University of Newcastle, Australia), and a graduate diploma degree in acupuncture (Singapore).  He is the course director of the undergraduate clinical skills foundation course and the curriculum coordinator of the third to fifth year curriculum. 

 

Dr Lau’s main research interests are in osteoporosis, pharmacoeconomic evaluation and evidence based medicine.  He has helped to coordinate the Health Service Development Program for osteoporosis (HSDP) in 2003 to 2007 in the NHG cluster, which was successful in improving adherence and reducing the recurrent fracture rates of patients who were at high risk of recurrent fractures.  He is currently helping to coordinate the Osteoporosis Disease Management Program (OPTIMAL), which is an extension of the previous HSDP osteoporosis program, involving both the Singhealth and NHG clusters. 

 

 

Ms Gladys Wong is the Chief Dietitian / Senior Manager at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, previously at Alexandra Hospital for 10 years.

Ms Wong graduated with Bachelor of Science with Honours and Masters in Human Nutrition in New Zealand.  She is a NZ Registered Dietitian, trained and worked in New Zealand hospitals for more than 5 years, and is also a Singapore Accredited Dietitian with Singapore Nutrition & Dietetics Association (SNDA).  

 

Before returning to clinical dietetics at Alexandra Hospital in 2000, Ms Wong was a Lecturer at Temasek Polytechnic for more than 5 years.  Ms Wong s is currently a full lecturer of School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Flinders University, Australia.  She is a also a Professional member of the Foodservice Consultants Society International (FCSI).

 

As the Chief Dietitian and Senior Manager, Gladys oversees the dietetics services and is consultant to the foodservice department.   She was a Council Member of the Diabetic Society of Singapore (DSS) for 6 years, and current council member of the Singapore Association of the Study of Diabetes (SASO).  She has served as President and Treasurer with the SNDA and is currently the Chairperson for Corporate membership.  She has given numerous professional and public talks and workshops relating to a wide variety of nutrition-related topics, including bone health.  She has special interest in diabetes management, disease-risk prevention education for the community and medical education for the healthcare professionals.

 

 

 

 

OSTEOPOROSIS is a systemic bone disease characterized by decrease bone mass density and micro-architectural degeneration resulting in the increased of skeletal fragility and therefore the risk of fracture.  In Singapore, as in the rest of Asia, osteoporosis will become an increasingly important public health problem. Our age-adjusted hip fractures rates among women over the age of 50 years are currently among the highest in Asia, and approaching those of the West.

 

Osteoporosis is usually defined in relation to bone mineral density (BMD) that can be measured using a dual energy X-ray absortiometry (DEXA) machine.  Women, whose age minus their weight is more than 20; or those who have risk factors for osteoporosis, should have a BMD measurement.  Healthy lifestyle choices consisting of an adequate calcium diet and regular exercise from young; as well as avoidance of excessive alcoholic beverages and smoking are effective in the prevention of osteoporosis.  However, in women who already have fragility fractures or osteoporosis, medication may have to be considered. 

 

There are now several effective medications for the prevention of fractures in women who have osteoporosis. The cost effectiveness of such treatments will depend on 1) the predicted ten-year lifetime risk of fractures, 2) the cost of treatment of osteoporosis, 3) the cost of management of fractures and 4) the efficacy of the medications.  Since factors 2 to 4 are usually constant in any given context, therefore it will be prudent to case find patients at high risk of fractures for treatment.  The factors that predict high fracture risks are 1) increasing age, 2) previous fractures, and 3) lower BMD.