Osteoporosis 101

Osteoporosis affects 75 million of us in the US, Japan, and Europe. And women are four times more likely to develop low bone mass than men.

Moreover, I was amazed to learn that there are actually NINE categories of factors. Which ones apply to you?

• Ethnicity: Caucasian and Asian women at the highest risk, and African-American women the lowest. Women of Hispanic heritage fall in the middle.
• Genetics: Personal or family history of osteoporosis (parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, or uncles).
• Menses: Starting late (15 or older), stopping early (menopause before 45), having amenorrhea, or postmenopausal estrogen deficiency.
• Build: being petite and slender; low body weight, especially body mass index (BMI) <19.
• Nutrition: Excessive intake of protein, caffeine (>400mg/day); inadequate vitamin D and calcium intake.
• Lifestyle: too little exercise, smoking, too much alchohol (>7 drinks/week), and excessive dieting (yo-yo diets, anorexia, bulemia).
• Diseases: Hyperthyroidism; hyperparathyroidism; multiple sclerosis; gastrectomy, lactose intolerance and other gastrointestinal problems that impact absorption; thalassemia; multiple myeloma; and poorly controlled Type 1 diabetes.
• Drugs: steroids; anticonvulsants; non-thiazide diuretics; too much thyroid hormone replacement; cytotoxic drugs; Heparin, Lithium; gonadotropin releasing hormone agonists; and maybe even long courses of diuretics.
• Treatments: for endometriosis, leukemia, lymphoma, and chronic inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.

Once I read this list, I realized that we are pretty much ALL at risk. Next blog, I’ll tell you specifically what you can do lower your risk. Stay tuned. 


For more information on osteoporosis, visit www.drsinatra.com.