Osteoporosis: Evaluate Your Risk
Are you at risk for osteoporosis, a disease that causes thinning of bones? Over time, this weakens the bones and can make them more likely to break. It can affect any bone, but the hip, spine, and wrist are most often involved. It’s often called a “silent disease” because people can’t feel their bones getting weaker.
Who Is at Risk for Osteoporosis?
Women are more likely than men to develop this disease. This happens because of hormonal differences. Also, men have larger, stronger bones than women. Men and women older than age 50 are at the greatest risk. One in two women and one in four men in this age group will fracture a bone because of osteoporosis. Women who are non-Hispanic white or Asian are more likely to get it than women who are Hispanic or African American. For men, it’s more common in non-Hispanic whites.
Use this tool to find out your risk of getting this disease.
Other risk factors that may increase your chances for osteoporosis include:
- Small bones
- Lack of physical activity or exercise
- Smoking
- Drinking too much alcohol
- A diet low in calcium and vitamin D
- A past break (fracture), especially after age 50
- Being postmenopausal
- Taking certain medicines (e.g., long-term use of corticosteroids)
- Family history of osteoporosis
- Other medical conditions, such as endocrine or hormonal diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, types of cancer, HIV/AIDS, and anorexia nervosa
Many people don’t know they have the disease until they have advanced symptoms. These may include a broken hip or wrist, low back pain, or a hunched back.
How Is Osteoporosis Diagnosed?
If your health care provider thinks that you have osteoporosis, a simple, painless test to measure bone density can confirm it. The test is called a bone density test or dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), or DEXA scan.
If you’re diagnosed with it, a number of medicines are available to treat it. Talk with your health care provider about the type of treatment that’s best for you.
Can it Be Prevented?
To help prevent the disease:
- Talk with your health care provider about screening tests.
- Do regular weight-bearing exercise. This means activities that work your legs against gravity. The best exercises are walking, dancing, jogging, stair-climbing, playing racquet sports and hiking. If you’ve been inactive, be sure to check with your doctor before beginning any exercise.
- Talk with your provider about your diet and whether or not you need to take a vitamin and mineral supplement.
- Don’t smoke. If you smoke, get help to quit.
- Don’t drink too much alcohol.
Related:
Soaking Up Some Vitamin D
5 Steps to Help Avoid Osteoporosis
