Risk factors of osteoporosis
“Excessive smoking and alcohol consumption are some common habits that can jeopardise bone health,” says Dr Mohd Rusdi Abdullah, consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Subang Jaya Medical Centre. Smoking can reduce bone mass and increase your risk for a broken bone as nicotine inhibits bone-forming cells while heavy alcohol use reduces bone mass and increases your risk of falling and sustaining broken bones.
He also adds that rapid weight loss can also affect your bone health as when one loses weight, she can lose bone density that is not restored when she regains the weight. Besides that, some risk factors of developing osteoporosis include gender (women are at higher risk), being of Caucasian or Asian descent, and having a thin, small body frame and a family history of osteoporosis.
Children, teenagers, young adults and premenopausal women can develop early-onset osteoporosis as a secondary condition to diseases, genetic problems, medication, surgery and lifestyles affecting bone acquisition and loss. These problems include: ● Juvenile arthritis
● Diabetes mellitus
● Cystic fibrosis
● Leukaemia
● Celiac disease
● Osteogenesis imperfecta (congenital “brittle bone disease”)
● Homocystinuria (a genetic metabolic disorder)
● Hyperthyroidism
● Hyperparathyroidism
● Cushing’s syndrome
● Malabsorption syndromes
● Anorexia nervosa or other eating disorders
● Kidney disease z Rheumatoid arthritis
● Polycystic ovary syndrome in young women
● Women who were physically active before the age of 30, were nutritionally deficient and having menstrual dysfunction, sometimes called athletic energy deficiency or female athlete triad.
● Certain drugs, including those used in chemotherapy for cancer treatment, anticonvulsant medication for seizures and steroids.
The World Health Organization defines the criteria for osteoporosis based on a T-score. A T-score shows how much higher or lower your bone density is compared to a healthy 30-year-old.
Most people with T-scores of -1.0 and above (indicating normal bone density) do not need to take osteoporosis medication, while those with T-scores between -1.0 and -2.5 (indicating low bone density or osteopenia) should consider going on medication if they have certain risk factors. Everyone with T-scores of -2.5 and below (indicating osteoporosis) should consider going on medication for the condition.