User:Mr. Ibrahem/Osteoporosis
Medical condition / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Osteoporosis is a disease in which bone weakening increases the risk of a broken bone.[3] It is the most common reason for a broken bone among the elderly.[3] Bones that commonly break include the vertebrae in the spine, the bones of the forearm, and the hip.[8] Until a broken bone occurs there are typically no symptoms.[3] Bones may weaken to such a degree that a break may occur with minor stress or spontaneously.[3] After a broken bone, Chronic pain and a decreased ability to carry out normal activities may occur.[3]
Osteoporosis | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Elderly woman with osteoporosis showing a curved back from compression fractures of her back bones. | |
Pronunciation | |
Specialty | Rheumatology, orthopedics |
Symptoms | Increased risk of a broken bone[3] |
Complications | Chronic pain[3] |
Usual onset | Older age[3] |
Risk factors | Alcoholism, anorexia, hyperthyroidism, gastrointestinal diseases, surgical removal of the ovaries, kidney disease, smoking, certain medications[3] |
Diagnostic method | Bone density scan[4] |
Treatment | Good diet, exercise, fall prevention, stopping smoking[3] |
Medication | Bisphosphonates[5][6] |
Frequency | 15% (50 year olds), 70% (over 80 year olds)[7] |
Osteoporosis occurs when increased amount of bone is broken down by bone breaking cells and not enough made by bone making cells, resulting in loss of bone mass.[9] Bone loss increases after menopause due to lower levels of estrogen.[3] Osteoporosis may also occur due to a number of diseases or treatments, including alcoholism, anorexia, hyperthyroidism, kidney disease, and surgical removal of the ovaries.[3] Certain medications increase the rate of bone loss, including some antiseizure medications, chemotherapy, proton pump inhibitors, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and glucocorticosteroids.[3] Smoking, and too little exercise are also risk factors.[3] Osteoporosis is defined as a bone density of 2.5 standard deviations below that of a young adult.[4] This is typically measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.[4]
Prevention of osteoporosis includes a proper diet during childhood and efforts to avoid medications that increase the rate of bone loss.[3] Efforts to prevent broken bones in those with osteoporosis include a good diet, exercise, and fall prevention.[3] Lifestyle changes such as stopping smoking and not drinking alcohol may help.[3] Biphosphonate medications are useful to decrease future broken bones in those with previous broken bones due to osteoporosis.[5][6] In those with osteoporosis but no previous broken bones, they are less effective.[5][6][10] They do not appear to affect the risk of death.[11] A number of other medications may also be useful.[3][12]
Osteoporosis becomes more common with age.[3] About 15% of Caucasians in their 50s and 70% of those over 80 are affected.[7] It is more common in women than men.[3] In the developed world, depending on the method of diagnosis, 2% to 8% of males and 9% to 38% of females are affected.[13] Rates of disease in the developing world are unclear.[14] About 22 million women and 5.5 million men in the European Union had osteoporosis in 2010.[15] In the United States in 2010, about eight million women and one to two million men had osteoporosis.[13][16] White and Asian people are at greater risk.[3] The word "osteoporosis" is from the Greek terms for "porous bones".[17]