Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis comes from the Greek words osteon and poros, which means porous bone. It is the most common disease of the bone affecting 200 million women worldwide according to the International Osteoporosis Foundation. It usually affects women aged fifty and above. It is primarily caused by lack of or inadequate calcium and phosphate in the bones or inability of the bones to absorb enough of these two minerals. Bone tissue formation is highly dependent on the absorption of calcium and phosphate that it suffers adversely when the absorption function falters. In women, most cases of osteoporosis are linked to the drop of estrogen during menopause. Although it is primarily a disease for women, men are not safe from its clutches. Most case in men is due to significant drop in testosterone related to old age. The highest risk for men starts at the age of seventy.

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• Symptoms
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Types of Osteoporosis

The World Health Organization classifies osteoporosis according to the etiologic factor of the disease. The two categories of osteoporosis are as follows:

Primary Osteoporosis

The determination of this type of osteoporosis is dependent on the actual amount of calcium left in the skeleton. Another factor to be considered is the whether or not such amount of calcium places the person at risk for fractures. This type is further subdivided into two subtypes:

• Type I osteoporosis or postmenopausal osteoporosis – this happens when the amount of estrogen drops significantly especially after menopause. This affects 5% to 20% of postmenopausal women between the ages of 50 to 75. The fractures associated with this type are that of the vertebra, spine, hips, wrist and forearms caused by accidents or falls.
• Type II osteoporosis or senile osteoporosis – this normally begins at the age of 70 and occurs twice as much in women than in men. It occurs when there is a discrepancy in the coordination of the normal process of resorption and bone formation. This means that breakdown of the bones occurs faster than bone building. It affects the trabecular and cortical bones resulting in the fractures of the pelvis, tibia, arms, and legs. It can also be a result of changes in the absorption of Vitamin D – a known bone-forming vitamin.

Secondary Osteoporosis

This accounts for about 5% of all osteoporosis cases. This type is caused by other underlying conditions and factors like medication (i.e. corticosteroids), hormonal imbalance or certain debilitating and chronic diseases.

Other causes of osteoporosis include:

• Immobility and being confined to bed for a long time
• Eating disorders
• Chronic kidney disease
• Chronic rheumatoid arthritis
• Vitamin D deficiency
• Hyperparathyroidism