Women: Low risk for osteoporosis
The questions you just answered refer to specific risk factors for osteoporosis. Your answers suggest that your bone mineral density (BMD) is likely to be average or above average, which means you are at lower risk for developing osteoporosis as you age. However, your bones will naturally thin as you age, and all women have some risk for developing osteoporosis.
Factors that increase the risk for osteoporosis in women include:
- Being older than 65.
- Family history (mother, father, or sibling) of osteoporosis or of easily or unexplained broken bones.
- Lifestyle or environmental factors such as:
- Smoking.
- Frequent use of alcohol.
- Getting little or no weight-bearing exercise.
- Thin body build.
- A diet low in foods containing calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D.
- Decreasing levels of estrogen.
- Hyperthyroidism or other conditions that make the body unable to absorb enough calcium.
- Using medications such as corticosteroids, aromatase inhibitors, gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists, or too much thyroid replacement.
- Being of European or Asian ancestry.
- Using anticonvulsant medications such as carbamazepine.1
- Having certain surgeries, such as having your ovaries removed before menopause.
If you do have additional risk factors, you may want to talk with your health professional about your risk for osteoporosis.
The United States Preventive Services Task Force recommends that all women age 65 and older routinely have a bone mineral density test to screen for osteoporosis. If you are at increased risk for fractures caused by osteoporosis, routine screening should begin at age 60.
| Author: | Robin Parks, MS | Last Updated: December 1, 2006 |
| Medical Review: | Joy Melnikow, MD, MPH - Family Medicine Carla J. Herman, MD, MPH - Internal Medicine | |
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