Osteoporosis Risk Factors And The Changes You Can Make

Submitted by: Jeff Foster

Osteoporosis is a health condition in which the bone density in the skeletal system is reduced putting you at increased risk for bone fractures and the subsequent morbidity and mortality associated with fractures.

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

Osteoporosis risk factors include things such as having a strong family history of osteoporosis. For example if you have a mother who developed a osteoporotic hip fracture then your risk of developing the same immediately just doubled.

If you have a personal history of having a fracture as an adult then you also have a higher history of developing osteoporosis. This is particularly true if you have experienced a fracture that was not easily explained by the extent of the injuries suffered.

Some of the modifiable osteoporosis risk factors include things such as a diet low in calcium, excessive alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking and a lack of exercise.

Other osteoporosis risk factors are ones that may or may not be modifiable but certainly require your healthcare provider s help to best manage. Risk factors such as generally poor health, low estrogen levels, chronic inflammation related to diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, and hyperthyroidism, as in Grave s disease, all put you at increased risk for the development of osteoporosis.

Also certain medications can cause osteoporosis. Long-term use of oral corticosteroids, such as prednisone, which is used to reduce the inflammatory process in the body, has long been linked to osteoporosis. They long-term use of Dilantin and Phenobarbital, both anti-seizure medications, has also been linked to osteoporosis risk factors.

So while there are some osteoporosis risk factors that you can do something about there are others that you simply have no choice but to live with. But because of the higher morbidity associated with the development of osteoporosis, it is most certainly in your best interest to modify those risk that you can do something about.

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