Various risk factors and causes of osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a musculoskeletal disorder that is experienced by many women and the elderly (elderly). However, this does not mean that this disease cannot affect men and young people. What is the real cause of this bone loss, and what are the risk factors? Check out the following explanation.

Causes of osteoporosis

Often times osteoporosis is considered part of the aging process. Actually, this statement is not completely wrong. However, that does not mean that when you age, you will definitely experience osteoporosis.

The cause of osteoporosis is not age, because the disease may not occur if you take care of bone health from an early age. Yes, the occurrence of a disease that disrupts the motor system in humans depends on the level of your bone density when you are young, until you get older.

Basically, there will be a regeneration process in the bones in the body. This means that when old bones are damaged or broken, they will grow back as replacements. When you are young, this process happens more quickly. In fact, the new replacement bone makes bone mass increase.

However, this process will slow down as you go through your twenties. As you age, bone mass will also disappear or decrease more easily.

Therefore, the higher bone mass you have when you are young, the more bone density is maintained and the less risk of developing osteoporosis as you get older.

Risk factors for osteoporosis

There are several things that can affect your potential for osteoporosis, ranging from factors that can be controlled to those that cannot be controlled.

Unmanageable risk factors

Several factors that cannot be controlled include:

1. Female gender

Although it is not the cause of osteoporosis, your risk of developing high disease disorders will be higher if you are female. In fact, according to Osteoporosis Australia, women will lose approximately 2% of their bone mass during the several years after menopause.

In addition, breastfeeding is also thought to increase a woman's risk of developing osteoporosis. The reason is, breastfeeding can suppress calcium metabolism, so it has a direct effect on bone metabolism.

2. Increasing age

As previously explained, increasing age is not a cause of osteoporosis. However, the older you are, the higher the risk of developing this disease.

3. Family medical history of osteoporosis

If you have relatives or parents who have osteoporosis, your risk of developing this condition also increases.

4. Small body size

Small body size, both in men and women, can increase the risk of osteoporosis, especially as you get older.

Controllable risk factors

In addition to some of the risk factors above, there are also risk factors that may still be controlled with the help of a doctor, including:

1. Hormonal imbalance

Although not the cause of osteoporosis, hormone levels that are too high or too low in the body can affect the risk of experiencing this bone loss disease. Some of these hormones are:

• The hormone estrogen in women decreases after menopause, potentially weakening the bones.
• The decrease in the hormone testosterone in men with age, can also accelerate the process of decreasing bone density.
• Excess thyroid hormone in the body can lead to decreased bone density.

2. Low calcium levels

Calcium levels in the body are very important for bone health. If your body is constantly experiencing a lack of calcium, it could be that this condition increases the factors that cause osteoporosis.

Too low calcium intake can accelerate the process of decreasing bone density, so that the risk of fractures and loss of bone mass increases. Therefore, to prevent osteoporosis, usually you will be advised to increase calcium intake in the body.

3. Operations related to digestion

Having bowel removal or those related to the stomach and digestion can limit your body's absorption of nutrients, including calcium. The little amount of calcium that is absorbed into the body may affect the level of calcium in the body, which can increase the risk of osteoporosis.

4. Use of certain drugs

The use of certain drugs can also be a potential risk factor for osteoporosis. Some of them are:

• Steroid drugs, such as corticosteroids.
• Medicines to treat seizures.
• Cancer drugs.
• Medicines used to treat gastric reflux.

Therefore, osteoporosis does not only occur in adults or the elderly, but also in young people, adolescents, and children.

5. Certain diseases or health conditions

There are several health conditions that can increase your risk of developing osteoporosis, including:

• Cancer
• Lupus disease
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Kidney or liver disease

If you experience any of the health problems above, try to consult your doctor if there are ways you can do to reduce the risk.

6. Rarely exercise

Some unhealthy lifestyle choices can also be a risk cause for osteoporosis. One of them is too often sitting or dozing without doing physical activity such as sports.

To do this, you don't need to choose sports that are too strenuous. Start with mild types of exercise, because what matters is that the body remains active. That way, you have tried to prevent ostoeoporosis.

7. Smoking habits

Smoking is not a good habit for overall health. The proof, apart from being dangerous for the health of the lungs and heart, apparently this activity is also not good for bone health.

Smoking is not the main cause of osteoporosis, but this activity can weaken your bones. Therefore, it's better to quit habits that are not good for you.

If you begin to feel symptoms of osteoporosis, it is better to have your bone health checked by a doctor. If you do have osteoporosis, your doctor will help to determine a treatment for bone loss that suits your health condition.

In addition to slowing down the osteoporosis process and preventing fractures, treatment is also mandatory to avoid complications from osteoporosis. Therefore, always practice a lifestyle for bone health, such as eating bone strengthening foods and doing healthy exercises for bones.