What are the risk factors for osteoporosis?

Risk factors for osteoporosis include age, low calcium intake, lack of exercise, female sex, white or Oriental race, heredity, a small and thin frame, early menopause, removal of ovaries, and absence of menstruation.

Affecting more than 20 million Americans, osteoporosis decreases bone density, and increases the risk of bone fracture from otherwise trivial accidents and actions. Simple tasks, like lifting a box or going for a walk, can easily end in a trip to the emergency room. Perhaps the most well known indicators of osteoporosis include the characteristic humped back and loss of height.

Age is the primary risk factor in osteoporosis development. In part the result of lifelong habits such as low calcium intake and lack of exercise, other osteoporosis risk factors include female sex, white or Oriental race, family history of osteoporosis, a small and thin frame, early menopause, removal of ovaries, and absence of menstruation.