Osteoporosis Health Article

Definition

The word osteoporosis literally means porous bones. It occurs when bones lose an excessive amount of their protein and mineral content, particularly calcium. Over time, bone mass, and therefore bone strength, is decreased. As a result, the bones become fragile and break easily. Even a sneeze or a sudden movement may be enough to break a bone in someone with severe osteoporosis.

Description

Osteoporosis is a serious public health problem. Some 28 million people in the United States are affected by this potentially debilitating disease, which is responsible for 1.5 million fractures (broken bones) annually. These fractures, which are often the first sign of the disease, can affect any bone, but the most common locations are the hip, spine, and wrist. Breaks in the hip and spine are of special concern because they almost always require hospitalization and major surgery; and may lead to other serious consequences, including permanent disability and even death.

To understand osteoporosis, it is helpful to understand the basics of bone formation. Bone is living tissue

that's constantly being renewed in a two-stage process (resorption and formation) that occurs throughout life. In the resorption stage, old bone is broken down and removed by cells called osteoclasts. In the formation stage, cells called osteoblasts build new bone to replace the old. During childhood and early adulthood, more bone is produced than removed, reaching its maximum mass and strength by the mid-30s. After that, bone is lost at a faster pace than it's formed, so the amount of bone in the skeleton begins to slowly decline. Most cases of osteoporosis occur as an acceleration of this normal aging process. That is referred to as primary osteoporosis. The condition can also be caused by other disease processes or prolonged use of certain medications that result in bone loss; if so, it is called secondary osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis occurs most often in older people, especially in women after menopause. It affects nearly half of all adults, men and women, over the age of 75. Women, however, are five times more likely than men to develop the disease. They have smaller, thinner bones than men to begin with, and they lose bone mass more rapidly after menopause (usually around age 50), when they stop producing a bone-protecting hormone called estrogen. In the five to seven years following menopause, women can lose about 20% of their bone mass. By age 65 or 70, though, men and women lose bone mass at the same rate.

As an increasing number of men live longer, health professionals are increasingly aware that osteoporosis is an important health issue for men as well. In fact, men account for about 20% of all spinal fractures and up to 30% of all hip fractures due to osteoporosis.