Osteoporosis is a degenerative disease of the skeletal system. Bone mass and density is decreased putting those who suffer from the condition at an increased risk and causes higher instances of fractures. While there is no single known cause for this disease there are several factors that help determine who will get Osteoporosis. Since there is no cure for Osteoporosis, prevention and early detection is extremely important. Knowing the risk factors is the best hope for preventing and maintaining Osteoporosis. The risks are additive, meaning that the more risk factors you possess, the greater your chances for developing the disease.

One of the most predominate factors in the risk for developing Osteoporosis is age. As we age our bones naturally lose density and become weaker, so the older you are, the greater the risk for developing Osteoporosis. Throughout childhood, adolescence and early adulthood bone mass and density strengthens until it reaches its peak somewhere around age 30 in normal, healthy adults. Through a process called remodeling bones are constantly being removed and replaced with new bone. Sometimes too much bone is removed, not enough is replaced, or both. Aging naturally slows this process as well as causing most everyone to experience some bone loss.

The chances of developing Osteoporosis are greater in women. Fractures resulting from Osteoporosis are about twice as common in women than in men. Men have greater bone mass and density to begin with. That coupled with the fact that women lose bone mass at a higher rate and tend to live longer puts them at higher risk for developing Osteoporosis. Women go through menopause, something that does not occur in men. Menopause causes a sudden drop in estrogen, which accelerates the process of bone loss. However, by the age of 75 women and men begin to lose bone mass at the same rate.

Men and women who are exceptionally thin or have small body types are also at an increased risk for developing Osteoporosis. Those with lower bone mass to start with have less to draw from as the natural process occurs with age. Race also plays a role. Both men and women of Asian or Caucasian descent are at an increased risk for developing osteoporosis. Their bone density has been shown to be up to 10% less than that of those who are of African, Mediterranean or Aborigines descent. While their risk is lower, African Americans and Hispanics still have significant risk of developing the disease. Osteoporosis tends to run in families. Therefore if someone in your family has been diagnosed or has suffered from fractures so might you. One of the reasons is probably because race and body type are hereditary.

These risk factors cannot be changed. While possessing one or more of them does increase your risk of developing Osteoporosis it is not definitive, just as if you have none of them there is no guarantee that you will not develop the disease. Still there are several factors that play a role in increased risk of developing Osteoporosis that can be changed.