| Osteoporosis is a disease that thins and weakens | | | | osteoporosis. Other women at great risk include |
| bones to the point where they break easily | | | | those who: |
| especially bones in the hip, backbone (spine), and | | | | · have a family history of the disease, |
| wrist. Osteoporosis is called the "silent disease" | | | | · have not gotten enough calcium throughout their |
| you may not notice any changes until a bone breaks. | | | | lives, |
| Who is susceptible to getting osteoporosis and how | | | | · had an early menopause, |
| can you tell if you have it? | | | | · had surgery to remove their ovaries, |
| Osteoporosis is a disease that thins and weakens | | | | · had extended bed rest, |
| bones to the point where they break easily | | | | · used certain medicines for a long time, or |
| especially bones in the hip, backbone (spine), and | | | | · have small body frames. |
| wrist. Osteoporosis is called the "silent disease" | | | | The risk of osteoporosis grows as you get older. |
| you may not notice any changes until a bone breaks. | | | | Bone loss may begin slowly in some people when |
| But your bones have been losing strength over many | | | | they are in their late thirties. At the time of |
| years. | | | | menopause women may lose bone quickly for |
| Bone is living tissue. To keep bones strong, the body | | | | several years. Then the loss may continue but more |
| is always breaking down old bone and replacing it | | | | slowly. As men age, they do not have the same |
| with new tissue. As people enter their 40's and 50's, | | | | kinds of striking hormone changes as women do in |
| more bone is broken down than is replaced. A close | | | | mid-life because they do not have a menopause. In |
| look at the inside of bone would show something | | | | men the loss of bone mass occurs more slowly. But, |
| that looks like a honeycomb. When you have | | | | by age 65 or 70 men and women are losing bone at |
| osteoporosis, the spaces in this honeycomb grow | | | | the same rate. |
| larger. The outer shell of your bones also gets | | | | How Do I Know If I Am Losing Bone? |
| thinner. All this makes your bones weaker. | | | | Losing height or having a bone break easily is often |
| Who Gets Osteoporosis? | | | | the first sign of osteoporosis. But it doesn't need to |
| Ten million Americans have osteoporosis, and eight | | | | be. Bone density is a term that describes how solid |
| million of them are women. About 34 million more | | | | your bones are. Ordinary x-rays do not show bone |
| have osteopenia. This means they don't have | | | | loss until a large amount of bone mass is gone. The |
| osteoporosis yet, but have lost enough bone to | | | | best way to measure bone density is by a |
| make them more likely to get it. One in two women | | | | DEXA-scan (dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry). Ask |
| and one in eight men over age 50 will have an | | | | your doctor about this test if you think you are at |
| osteoporosis-related fracture during their lives. White | | | | risk for osteoporosis or if you are a woman around |
| and Asian women are most likely to get | | | | the age of menopause or older. |