What Influences a Woman's Risk for Osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is a porous bone condition caused by a loss of calcium. It's most common in thin Caucasian women older than age 65. This loss in bone mass increases over time and weakens bones, which can later increase the risk of breakage. A range of factors influences a woman's risk for osteoporosis.

Significance

• Women have less bone mass than men and often live longer; this places them at greater risk for osteoporosis. Also a factor is the loss of estrogen, which is proven to be protective of bone mass in premenopausal women.

Considerations

• Bone mass peaks in adults at the age of 35; afterward, bone density decreases. Bone loss in women speeds up after menopause with the lowering of estrogen levels. Bone loss may also occur in younger women who undergo an unnatural early menopause when their ovaries are surgically removed.

Features

• Women who go through menopause before the age of 48 or have had their ovaries removed before menopause are more prone to osteoporosis symptoms. Other risk factors are smoking, lack of exercise, alcohol abuse, and hyperthyroidism. And Caucasian women with thin-boned frames are more susceptible, according to FamilyDoctor.org.

Identification

• Osteoporosis often goes unchecked and unnoticed until it is well advanced. Signs of it include fractures, broken bones, back pain and a hunched posture. A decrease in height can occur because of a collapse of brittle spinal bones.

Prevention/Solution

• Getting enough calcium in the diet and taking supplements can help avert bone loss. Women should receive 1,000 mg daily before menopause, increasing to 1,500 mg afterward for women not supplementing with estrogen replacement therapy. The body best absorbs calcium through foods and supplements containing vitamin D and magnesium.

Medications

• Those suffering from bone loss may be given drugs to help slow down the process. These medications include ibandronate sodium, which acts to slow bone loss, and raloxifene, a drug that mimics estrogen in women.