Why Women Are at Higher Risk for Osteoporosis

Preventative medicine is one of our specialties here at Matthews Internal Medicine. We want to help our patients avoid diseases and chronic conditions later. One of those conditions is osteoporosis. This debilitating disease affects bone mass and makes it easier for older people to break or fracture bones.

There are many risk factors for osteoporosis and ways to help build stronger bones when you’re younger. If you’re a woman though, there’s one important thing that you should know. It may not seem fair, but women have an increased risk of developing osteoporosis when compared to men. In fact, the vast majority of adults in the United States living with osteoporosis are women. A woman’s risk of breaking her hip is on par with her combined risk of developing uterine, ovarian, and breast cancer. There are a number of medical reasons for this, and keeping this in mind can help you with your osteoporosis prevention efforts.

Contributing Factors

The main reason that women are more likely to develop osteoporosis has to do with estrogen. This hormone helps protect bones, but estrogen levels decrease greatly in women who have gone through menopause. This greatly increases your chances to develop osteoporosis. 

Women can also lose bone density rather quickly once they hit menopause. In some cases women can lose an astounding twenty percent of bone density in the five to seven years after menopause. If you’re one of the women who quickly loses bone density, that can increase your chances of developing osteoporosis.

Having some diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis, and certain medications can increase your risk of developing osteoporosis, but there are also other risk factors unique to women. Getting irregular or infrequent periods, going through menopause at an early age, or having ovaries removed can all up your chances of developing osteoporosis. This makes comprehensive prevention efforts even more important.

How to Prevent It

Trying to prevent osteoporosis once you reach menopause is far more difficult than following an osteoporosis prevention program right away. The amount of bone you have when you reach menopause can be a big determinant of whether or not you end up developing osteoporosis. By taking steps to build bone density early on, you can reduce your risk later. 

Adding more of certain nutrients to your diet can be critical to bone health. Vitamin D and calcium are the main ones to be concerned about. These nutrients are found in many dairy products, which can actually pose a problem for women with lactose intolerance. This ailment, which affects the digestion of dairy, is most common among Caucasian women. If you can’t get these nutrients from food, you may have to invest in supplements that can help you build bone health. 

You can also lower your risk of developing osteoporosis by exercising and not smoking. Living a healthier lifestyle is an important part of your osteoporosis prevention efforts. We’ll help you with all of your preventative medicine needs, including smoking cessation, right now here at Matthews Internal Medicine and help you protect your bone health later in life.