Causes of Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis literally means 'porous bones'. In people with osteoporosis, there is faulty mineralization of the bones, which cause the bones to become porous within, with a lot of embedded hollow-like spaces. This causes the bones to be more brittle than the bones of young people, and causes them to get fractured easily.

Bones require two essential minerals for their formation – they are calcium and phosphates. These minerals work within the bone to mineralize it and to keep it 'alive'. However, in people where this mineralization cannot occur for some reason, or if it occurs only erratically, then the person suffers from the condition of osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis-affected bones have more pronounced hollow spaces within them, which causes them to break more frequently and more easily. Such fractures happen in situations where healthy people would not normally get a fracture. Osteoporosis mostly affects the long bone femur, or the spine or the wrist bones. However, the porosity of the bones happens throughout the body.

The Process of Bone Development

In order to understand why osteoporosis occurs, we must first understand a process known as bone development.

Bones are not lifeless parts of the body. They are very much living (that is the reason why it pains terribly when a bone is hurt or fractured), and they are constantly re-growing. Just as the cells in the body die out and are replaced by new cells in a relentless manner, bones are also worn out and regrown. New bone is continuously replacing the old bone in the body, and these two processes – bone utilization and bone growth (also known as bone mineralization) are working simultaneously in the body.

When the body is young, the bone growth occurs at a quick pace, which the bone utilization is at a slow rate. This is the time when the bones get built up, like from infancy to adulthood. When the person reaches about 30 years of age, the bones are at their peak density. This is the time when the bones are considered to be mineralized completely, and they are growing at a much faster rate than they are declining.

After the thirties, a gradual deterioration begins to occur. The bones start declining at a rate faster than they mineralize. This occurs very slowly at first, but declines more and more sharply as the person's age advances.

It is important to keep in mind that the amount of bone is not constant all through our living years. This is the crux of the development of osteoporosis.

Understanding the Causes of Osteoporosis

The causes of osteoporosis can be grouped in three main categories. We discuss them below.

Loss of bone mass – Bone mass is lost rapidly after the thirties. In some groups of people, the loss of bone mass is much faster than its development. This is seen especially in women when they reach menopause. Estrogen is a very important hormone required for the development of bones in women (also androgen in men). But when the woman reaches menopause, there is a sharp decline in the amount of estrogen. This causes the bones to be malformed, and osteoporosis sets in. This cause is not observed in men. That is the reason why osteoporosis is more commonly observed in elderly women than in men.

Faulty mineralization of bone during younger years – Certain conditions might cause the bones to be formed faultily during childhood and early adolescence. This might happen when the body is deprived of the minerals calcium and phosphates, or if the body is deficient in Vitamin D, which is required to set the metabolism of bone formation into action. Such children will develop osteoporosis when they grow older. This cause of osteoporosis is seen in both men as well as women.

Bone loss due to disease – A lot of medical conditions can lead to the onset of osteoporosis. Eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia can be directly responsible, because they deprive the body of the requisite minerals. A host of other disease can cause osteoporosis as a secondary complication. Some of these diseases are Brown-Sequard Syndrome, celiac disease, Crohn's Disease, Cushing's Syndrome, certain kinds of anemia, kidney disease, Menke's Disease, neuritis, prolactinoma, renal osteodystrophy, ulcerative colitis and Werner Syndrome. Being underweight can also cause osteoporosis in the later years.

Genetic disposition and Age – Osteoporosis can be brought on in some people simply due to advancing age, when the bone mass density decreases. In some people with a family history of osteoporosis, the chances of themselves getting the condition are quite high.

Risks of Osteoporosis

There are several factors that can contribute to an onset of osteoporosis, and some of these can lend the classification of lifestyle disease to osteoporosis. The following are some of these risk factors:-

• Smoking is a risk factor for osteoporosis, because it thwarts the proper activity of the bone development process.
• Alcoholism in excess can bring osteoporosis because it hampers with bone building. However, small amounts of alcohol are good for osteoporosis.
• Most soft drinks are also responsible for this condition if consumed in excess, but this point is debatable.
• People who are underweight or those who try to lose weight rapidly (through diet or otherwise) can develop chances of osteoporosis.
• Exercise is necessary for the proper development and maturation of the bones. People who lead a sedentary lifestyle can become victims of this condition.
• At the same time, over-exercising can cause damages in the bone structure. This may also bring on osteoporosis.
• Some metals like cadmium impair the normal formation of the bone, which can lead to osteoporosis.