Osteoporosis Risk

Osteoporosis is a disease in which bone density is reduced skeletal put you at increased risk of bone fractures and subsequent morbidity and mortality associated with fractures.

There are several risk factors for osteoporosis that are not modifiable, such as being female, being a member of the Caucasian or Asian or even have a body and think small, but there are many risk factors osteoporosis, you can certainly do something.

Risk factors for osteoporosis include things like having a family history of osteoporosis. For example, if you have a mother who has developed an osteoporotic fracture of the hip, then your risk of developing the same immediately simply doubled.

If you have a personal history of fracture as an adult, then you also have a greater history of developing osteoporosis. This is especially true if you have suffered a fracture that was not easily explained by the extent of damage.

Some of the modifiable risk factors for osteoporosis include a diet low in calcium, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption of cigarettes, and lack of exercise.

Other risk factors for osteoporosis are those who may or may not be changed but certainly need help with your health care provider to better manage. Risk factors such as poor general health, low estrogen levels, chronic inflammation associated with diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and hyperthyroidism, as in Grave's disease, all put you at increased risk for the development of osteoporosis.

Also some medications can cause osteoporosis. The long-term use of oral corticosteroids such as prednisone, which is used to reduce inflammation in the body, has long been linked to osteoporosis. They use long-term Dilantin and phenobarbital, two anti-crisis, has also been linked to risk factors for osteoporosis.

Thus, while some risk factors for osteoporosis that you can do something there are others that you just have no other choice but to live with. But because of the increased morbidity associated with the onset of osteoporosis, it is certainly in your best interest to modify the risks you can do something.