Osteoporosis About: Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disease that leads to low bone density, it develops when the body breaks down more bone tissue than it could replace. Bones become very weak and brittle that even a mild stress such as coughing can cause a fracture. The fractures mostly occur in the hip, wrist or spine. Osteoporosis can affect both men and women, but it is most commonly found in women especially after menopause, this is because of drastic decrease in ovaries production of the hormones estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen is the hormone that mainly protects against osteoporosis.
Causes and risk factors: Osteoporosis means porous bone, a healthy bone looks like a honeycomb. At young age your body will make new bone very faster than it breaks down old bone due to which your body mass increases. When osteoporosis disease occurs, these honeycomb holes on the bone becomes larger than the healthier bone, because of this, the bones will lose the density and contain abnormal tissue structure. When these bones become less dense they will be weak and are more likely to break.
Risk factors: Age: Osteoporosis affects all age groups, but it is more for older people than younger people. It is not that every older person gets this disease, but it is comes more common with age. Reduced sex hormones: when estrogen hormone level drops after menopause, bone loss increases. The same happens, when your ovaries are removed because your ovaries produce most of the body’s estrogen. Ethnicity: This disease is more common in white people and Asians. Bone structure: both men and women who are thin or small body structure have more tendencies to get osteoporosis because of less bone mass.