Know the Major Risk Factors of Osteoporosis to Overcome Them

Updated: 06-06-2025

 

 

 

Know the Major Risk Factors of Osteoporosis to Overcome Them

Are you suffering from Osteoporosis? Do you know the Risk Factors of Osteoporosis?

Well, you are in the right place to understand the causes and other risk factors of osteoporosis.

Mostly, Osteoporosis is caused due to unhealthy diets, stressed-out existence, and sedentary lifestyles. 

Here are some risk factors for osteoporosis.

• Race and Gender (Asian descent, women)
• Genetics and Age (family history, 50 years and above)
• Calcium deficiency
• Physical inactivity
• Smoking
• Vitamin D deficiency
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Excess alcohol
• Medications such as prednisone or heparin

Early Stages of Osteoporosis

Although frequent fractures and breakage of bones are considered to be, the signs of osteoporosis few other indications can help diagnose the osteoporosis condition at an early stage.

Such symptoms include:

1. High serum calcium levels or alkaline phosphate levels in the blood report
2. Deficiency of vitamin D
3. Aches in muscles and joints
4. Weight loss
5. Resting pulse more than 80
6. Needing help of arms to get up from the chair
7. Increase in stopping
8. Resting pulse more than 80 beats/minute
9. BMD results are -2.5 or below

If you are suffering from any of the above symptoms or couple of symptoms together, you must consult your caregiver and decide an exact model of treatment.

 

Early Fracture Fragility Symptoms 

A fragility fracture is quite painful and causes immediate swelling after the impact or fall.

Sometimes the pain starts in the back, resulting in a vertebral fracture.

This pain can last for a maximum of six weeks as your bones continue to heal.

 

Screening for Osteoporosis

It is very important to know when the right time to screen for bone loss is.

This helps in the early treatment and saves further consequences.

 

According to a study, only 12 percent of people having osteoporosis get their bone mineral density or BMD screening done.

Lack of awareness among older and middle-aged women increases their risk of Osteoporosis.

 

The best screening for the BMD is DEXA or DXA, which is a painless scanning procedure that uses low radiation levels to measure the bone density of spine, hips and other body areas.

 

When is the Right Time for Screening?

The following people are at great risk of acquiring osteoporosis.

They include:

1. Women above the age of 65 years
2. Postmenopausal women who had earlier had a fracture
3. Women with more than one of the risk factors, such as body weight and family history, and so on.
4. Caucasian post menopause women

Diagnosing Osteoporosis

Diagnosis of osteoporosis is carried out in steps.

These are:

 

1. Medical history:

In this, your family history related to osteoporosis, as well as your medical history of fractures and neck and back pain, is studied.

 

2. Physical Examination:

This is carried out to check whether you have experienced any height loss.

For this, he will examine the spine and check your height without shoes.

 

3. Bone Density Test:

This is the test prescribed for diagnosing osteoporosis.

It helps to check your bone density and the risks of osteoporosis and breaking of bones.

According to NOF, BMD is best measured using a DXA machine.

 

4. FRAX Score:

This is a fracture risk assessment tool that uses your bone density information to evaluate a 10-year risk estimate for fracture.

The tool score lets you know about your chances of breaking hip bones or combined major bones in the coming 10 years.

These major bones are the forearm, shoulder, spine, and hip.

This test is useful for people who are at greater risk of osteoporosis.

 

5. Laboratory Tests:

Common tests for checking onset of osteoporosis and bone health include urine and blood tests, thyroid function tests, blood calcium levels, 24-hour urine calcium measurement, testosterone levels in men, parathyroid hormone levels, 25-hydroxyvitamin D test and biochemical marker tests including CTX and NTX.

 

6. Other Tests:

Other tests to estimate how fast you are losing bone density include X-rays, nuclear bone scans, vertebral fracture assessments or VFAs, MRIs, or CT Scans.

These tests are mostly prescribed if bone lesions or cancer of the bones are suspected.

Treatments for Osteoporosis

Depending on the severity of the disease, age of the patient and other related factors such as medical and family history and so on, caregivers suggest different treatments to the patients.

Here are some such treatments:

1. Hormone Replacement Therapy

Also popularly known as HRT, in this therapy, synthetic hormones are introduced to replace estrogen so that the loss of bone is reduced.

Such therapy is usually recommended to women in their menopause or post-menopause phase, as after the fifties, their bodies lose the ability to produce estrogen in the required amount.

 

Note:

This treatment comes with several pros and cons and hence it should be only initiated on the recommendation of a reputed caregiver.

Moreover, you should not continue the therapy beyond the prescribed duration.

 

2. Bisphosphonates

This is a particular type of medicine group that helps in slowing down the rate at which the bones dissolve thereby helping the bones to get back their strength in due time.

These too can cause side effects and must be taken and continued only on prescription.

 

Note: 

Medicines of this group come with special instructions and should be taken accordingly, as they can cause ulceration and irritation of the esophagus (food pipe).

 

3. Strontium Ranelate

This medication is specially prescribed to men and women in their postmenopausal phase or to women patients who, due to certain complications, cannot be prescribed bisphosphonates.

It works in two ways by increasing the bone formation process and also reducing the loss of bone, thereby reducing the chances of hip and spinal fractures.

 

Note:

Strontium Ranelate has been known to cause blood clots in veins and also to increase the chances of cardiac disorders such as heart attack, and hence is prescribed only to women with a high risk of getting fractures.

It should be strictly avoided in people with uncontrolled hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

 

4. Raloxifene

It is prescribed to treat and prevent the risk of osteoporosis in women who are in the postmenopausal phase.

The medicine stimulates the growth of the bones just like estrogen, but can cause an anti-estrogen effect on the breast tissue and the uterus of a woman.

 

Note:

Since this drug is known to develop blood clots within the veins, it should not be taken by women with a history of deep vein thrombosis or DVT history, or by women who have been affected by pulmonary embolism or any other thrombosis.

 

Specialized Treatments for Osteoporosis

Some of the specialized treatments for treating and preventing osteoporosis or overcoming the risk factors of Osteoporosis include:

 

Denosumab

• This treatment is recommended as a secondary prevention treatment for osteoporotic fragility fractures and is usually prescribed to women in their postmenopausal phase who cannot be prescribed bisphosphonates.
• It is a type of monoclonal antibody treatment given in the form of a small injection after every four weeks under the skin.

 

Calcitonin

• Calcitonin or Miacalcic is a type of hormone that is directly involved in the bone-turnover regulation process.
• This medicine is injected or given in the form of a nasal spray to treat postmenopausal women suffering from osteoporosis especially when the treatments of raloxifene, strontium or bisphosphonates is found unsuitable.
• It should be taken only on prescription as it can cause allergic reactions and other potential side effects.

 

Calcitriol

• Calcitriol or Rocaltrol is a type of vitamin-like compound and is advised in osteoporosis cases caused due to excessive use of steroid drugs.
• The drug has been found to reduce the vertebral fractures in the spine.

 

Teriparatide

• This is a natural man-made hormone known as parathyroid hormone and is utilized normally to control the levels of calcium in the bone metabolism and the body.
• It is effectively used to control increased fracture risk in men and osteoporosis risk factors in postmenopausal women.
• It is given daily in the form of a shot under the skin by using a special injection to increase the speed of the bone formation process. Falls Assessment, Hip Protector.
• These aids are recommended for patients who have poor balance or mobility problems.

Preventing and Taking Care of Osteoporosis

Here are a few steps that you can take to improve your bone health and reduce the risk of osteoporosis:

 

Lifestyle and Exercise

Excessive running can lead to bone loss and hence if you are a runner with low BMI then your chances of acquiring osteoporosis risks factors is much more.

1. To top it all, if you have a low weight and a thin frame, the risk increases manifold.
2. Such people should try out osteoporosis preventing exercises such as dancing, aerobics, walking or weight- bearing on a daily basis.
3. Alcohol abuse and smoking hurt the health of the bones, and hence, to increase their life expectancy, you must quit both these habits.

CCalcium-RichDiet

1. Healthy bones can be retained and acquired by taking a good calcium intake.
2. It has been found that less intake of calcium during childhood increases the risk of acquiring osteoporosis in adulthood.
3. For an adult, the daily recommended calcium intake is about 800mg.
4. You can use dairy products such as milk of cow’s milk, yogurt to boost your calcium intake.
5. No need to switch over to high-fat dairy products to cover up the calcium need, as the low-fat dairy products contain calcium in almost the same amount.
6. Fish such as sardines, mackerel, pilchards and salmon along with tofu and other calcium-fortified foods are a good source of calcium.
7. If you are, a vegan then you should increase your source of other non-dairy calcium providing food products such as almonds, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts, pulses, sesame seeds, dried dates, figs and apricots, green leafy vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, curly kale, and watercress.

Taking Calcium and Vitamin D Supplements

1. You can take the two most important supplements- vitamin D and calcium for reducing the risk of osteoporosis and fractures.
2. In case you think that your regular calcium or vitamin D intake is lower than required, you can opt to take them in supplement form to protect your vertebrae and other major bones
3. You can buy these supplements on prescriptiofromby your caregiver, who will prescribe the exact dose of the supplement as required by your body.
4. Growing evidence in the past few years has suggested that most people belonging to all ages are at higher risk of being vitamin D deficient.
5. Hence, just like calcium, vitamin D supplements can also be bought over the counter.

Statistics About Osteoporosis Spreading Over India?

1. According to a recent survey conducted by the WHO, around 300 million Indians are affected by risk factors of osteoporosis. It has been observed that this disease equally affects both men and women in India, and it can affect Indians at a younger age as compared to their Western counterparts.
2. The recently published data demonstrate the large-scale vitamin D deficiency among Indians of all ages and both sexes.
3. This is especially true in urban areas where skin pigmentation, poor exposure to sunlight and vitamin-D deficient diet can lead to the deficiency.
4. Moreover, Indians also have much lower BMD compared to Western citizens.
5. The World Health Organization has revealed that one in every three Indian women suffers from this disease, making India the worst osteoporosis affected countries in the world.
6. The Arthritis Foundation of India has revealed that there has been an estimated 200 % rise in the risk factors of osteoporosis cases in the past 10 years in Asia.
7. It is estimated that in the coming decade, around 50 percent of Indians will be affected by osteoporosis risk factors.

Since vitamin D deficiency is the major reason behind the low bone density and poor bone health among Indians, it is recommended that they should eat proper vitamin D and calcium-rich diet, exercise regularly and get adequate sunlight exposure. 

By following these easy steps, the peak bone mass of the Indian population can be increased.

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