5 common medical conditions causing osteoporosis bone loss
There are certain common medical conditions that are specifically linked with osteoporosis bone loss. Here’s what you need to watch out for.
The bone is a living tissue, and as such it is constantly being broken down to create new bone. However, when the rebuilding process is slower than the breaking down process, the bones become fragile and brittle. This is what happens when you develop osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is more common in women than men, and affects about 200 million women all over the world. Even though this disorder affects women of all age and races, it is more common in older white and Asian women. When you are suffering from osteoporosis and it reaches an advanced stage, fractures become a part of daily life.
The fractures that are associated with osteoporosis usually occur in your spine, hip, and wrist. The bones become so brittle that even everyday activities like bending over or stepping on to the pavement can result in fractures. Early stages of osteoporosis do not show any symptoms, but when it reaches an advanced stage, symptoms like loss of height, back pain, neck pain, fractures, and stooping posture can be seen. A simple bone density test that shows the extent of osteoporosis bone loss is used when you want to diagnose this disorder.
Some of the risk factors of osteoporosis include body frame size, age, family history, race, sedentary lifestyle, sex, and eating disorders. Your treatment plan will include a combination of medications, lifestyle modifications, and dietary changes, and mainly depends upon your risk of breaking any bone.
But what exactly causes osteoporosis bone loss? There is no definite answer to this question. However, there are some common medical conditions that are linked with osteoporosis bone loss either because of the medications used to treat them or because of the disease itself. These diseases may cause osteoporosis bone loss, which in turn increases the risk of developing this disorder. These medical conditions are:
Rheumatoid arthritis and lupus
Rheumatoid arthritis or RA and Lupus are autoimmune disorders where the immune system attacks its own healthy tissues and cells. There are around 3 million adults in the United States that suffer from either RA or lupus. Lupus is particularly problematic because it is much more common in women between 15 to 45 years, the years that are considered to be the peak bone building years. According to the associate professor of medicine and director of the Bone Health and Osteoporosis Center at Northwestern University, Dr.