Osteoporosis: Risks, Symptoms and Treatment.

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Osteoporosis is disease that causes bones to become brittle and weak. The image on the left shows an osteoporotic bone compared to a health bone on the right.
Credit: Shutterstock
▼ Osteoporosis is a common disease that makes bones weak, thin, brittle and more likely to break. The condition typically occurs in women after menopause and can increase the risk of fractures, especially in the hip, spine and wrist, according to the National  Institutes of Health.
The condition is often called a "silent disease" because bone losscan happen slowly and without any warning signs. People may not be aware they have osteoporosis until they break a bone, lose height or develop hunched posture.
About 10 million Americans have osteoporosis, and another 44 million have low bonemass, or osteopenia, placing them at increased risk for osteoporosis, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation.
There are a number of factors that may lead to osteoporosis, said Dr. Harold Rosen, an endocrinologist and director of the Osteoporosis Prevention and Treatment Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. One such factor is the accelerated bone loss that occurs after menopause, he said.
Men also lose bone as they age, normally once they're in their 60s and 70s, Rosen said. Some men think osteoporosis affects only women, but it strikes men too, he explained.
Low calcium intake and low vitamin Dlevels in the body can also lead to bone loss, Rosen told Live Science. The body needs a good supply of calcium and other minerals to form bone, and vitamin D helps absorb calcium from food and incorporate the nutrient into bone. In addition, unhealthy habits, such as smoking and excessive drinking, can speed up bone loss, he said.
How bone changes over time
The body is continually breaking down small areas of old bone tissue, a process called bone resorption, and replacing that old tissue with new bone tissue. During childhood and adolescence, new bone is deposited faster than old bone is removed. This makes bones larger, heavier and denser.
Peak bone mass, or when bones reach their maximum density and strength, typically occurs around age 30 for both sexes.Around age 35, bone breakdown occurs faster than the replacement by new bone, causing a gradual loss of bone mass, according to the National Institute o n Aging.
Women undergo more-rapid bone loss in the first few years after menopause (around age 51) than in their 30s and 40s because the ovaries produce much less estrogen, a hormone that protects against bone loss, according to The American College of  Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Men in their 50s and 60s also start to lose bone mass, but at a slower rate than women do. It's not until ages 65 to 70 that men and women begin losing bone mass at about the same rate.
For that reason, osteoporosis is more common in women. The condition affects about 25% of women and 5% of men ages 65 and over, according to the Centers for  Disease Control and Prevention.
Can osteoporosis be prevented? (▪ ▪ ▪)

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