Causes Of Osteoporosis

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Osteoporosis: Causes, Effects, and Prevention

More than 20 million people in the united states are affected by osteoporosis disease every year. Furthermore, Osteoporosis leads to about 1.5 million fractures in this country every year ("Celebrate World Osteoporosis Day, 2016). Osteoporosis is a common disease where people lose bone density faster than normal. This disease causes the bone to become weak and brittle which leads to fractures of the spine, hip, and wrist from a simple fall or even a sneeze or a cough. Osteoporosis usually does not have any symptoms and goes undetected until a fracture occurs. This silent disease can impact any gender, but it affects more women than men especially after menopause. Osteoporosis occurs when more …show more content…

Osteoporosis is a serious disease that leads to a faster than normal loss of the bone density, which puts the bone at a higher risk for fractures. In order to understand the causes of Osteoporosis, it is important to understand how bones are formed. Bone is a living tissue that is made mainly of collagen, calcium phosphate, and calcium carbonate. The mixture of collagen and calcium gives the bone strength and flexibility. The body deposits new bones and removes old ones; moreover, there are two types of bone cells that control the reproduction of bones. Cells called osteoclasts breakdown bone tissues thus, damaging the bone. Once the damaged bone is removed, cells called osteoblasts, use minerals including calcium and phosphate from the blood stream to make new healthy bone tissues. In order for osteoblasts and osteoclasts to work properly, hormones such us thyroid, estrogen, testosterone, and growth hormones are …show more content…

First of all, being a woman is one of the risk factors of osteoporosis especially after the age of menopause. “30% of American women between the ages of 60 and 70 have osteoporosis” (Marieb & Hoehn, 2016).To clarify, menopause is characterized by the loss of estrogen hormone production by the ovaries. Since estrogen is necessary for osteoblast to build new bone tissues, the lack of this hormone will improve the ability of osteoblast to absorb the bone tissues. Another risk factor of osteoporosis is being Caucasian. Caucasian women are more likely to get osteoporosis. 30% of Caucasian women experience a bone fracture in their lives that is related to osteoporosis” (Marieb & Hohen, 2016) . Furthermore, genetics are another risk factor of osteoporosis. Individuals with a family history of osteoporosis are at a primary risk for developing this condition. Moreover, a bad and unhealthy lifestyle including poor diet, lack of activities and exercise, smoking, and drinking too much are also risks factors of osteoporosis. In addition, low body weight is another risk factor of osteoporosis. Individuals with low body weight and small amount of fat and muscles are more likely to get this

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