Osteoporosis

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Prevention and Risk Factors
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Living With
• Related Issues
• Specifics
• Genetics

See, Play and Learn

• Health Check Tools
• Videos and Tutorials

Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Reference Desk
• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Men
• Women
• Seniors
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Osteoporosis is a disease that thins and weakens the bones. Your bones become fragile and break easily, especially the bones in the hip, spine, and wrist. In the United States, millions of people either already have osteoporosis or are at high risk due to low bone mass.

Anyone can develop osteoporosis, but it is more common in older women. Risk factors include

• Getting older
• Being small and thin
• Having a family history of osteoporosis
• Taking certain medicines
• Being a white or Asian woman
• Having low bone density

Osteoporosis is a silent disease. You might not know you have it until you break a bone. A bone mineral density test is the best way to check your bone health.

To keep bones strong, eat a diet rich in calcium and vitamin D, exercise, and do not smoke. If needed, medicines can also help. It is also important to try to avoid falling down. Falls are the number one cause of fractures in older adults.

NIH: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

Start Here

• Handout on Health: Osteoporosis (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)
• Osteoporosis (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health)
• Osteoporosis Overview (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)
• What Is Osteoporosis? (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Bone Markers (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
• Bone Mass Measurement: What the Numbers Mean (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) Also in Spanish
• Bone-Density Tests: When You Need Them - and When You Don't (ABIM Foundation)

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Exercise for Your Bone Health (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) Also in Spanish
• Healthy Bones at Every Age (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons) - PDF Also in Spanish
• Once Is Enough: A Guide to Preventing Future Fractures (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)

Treatments and Therapies

• Bone Density: MedinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine)
• Comparing Osteoporosis Drugs: The Bisphosphonates (Consumers Union of U.S.) - PDF
• Osteoporosis Treatment: Medications Can Help (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Vertebroplasty and Kyphoplasty (American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish

Living With

• Calcium and Vitamin D: Important at Every Age (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) Also in Spanish
• Exercise and Osteoporosis (National Institute on Aging)
• Food and Your Bones (National Osteoporosis Foundation)

Related Issues

• Bed Rest and Immobilization: Risk Factors for Bone Loss (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)
• For People with Osteoporosis: How to Find a Doctor (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)
• Oral Health and Bone Disease (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)
• Osteoporosis and Your Spine (National Osteoporosis Foundation)
• Recovering from Falls (National Osteoporosis Foundation)
• Smoking and Bone Health (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)
• Stress Fractures (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• What Breast Cancer Survivors Need to Know about Osteoporosis (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)
• What People Recovering from Alcoholism Need to Know about Osteoporosis (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)
• What People with Anorexia Nervosa Need to Know about Osteoporosis (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)
• What People with Asthma Need to Know about Osteoporosis (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)
• What People with Celiac Disease Need to Know about Osteoporosis (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)
• What People with Diabetes Need to Know about Osteoporosis (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) Also in Spanish
• What People with Inflammatory Bowel Disease Need to Know about Osteoporosis (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)
• What People with Lactose Intolerance Need to Know about Osteoporosis (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)
• What People with Lupus Need to Know about Osteoporosis (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) Also in Spanish
• What People with Rheumatoid Arthritis Need to Know about Osteoporosis (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)
• What Prostate Cancer Survivors Need to Know about Osteoporosis (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)

Specifics

• Glucocorticoid-Induced Osteoporosis (American College of Rheumatology) Also in Spanish

Genetics

• Genetics Home Reference: Hajdu-Cheney syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: juvenile primary osteoporosis (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: mucolipidosis III alpha/beta (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: mucolipidosis III gamma (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: osteoporosis-pseudoglioma syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: Snyder-Robinson syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: Werner syndrome (National Library of Medicine)

Health Check Tools

• Check Up On Your Bones (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)

Videos and Tutorials

• Osteoporosis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Statistics and Research

• FastStats: Osteoporosis (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Osteoporosis or Low Bone Mass at the Femur Neck or Lumbar Spine in Older Adults: United States, 2005-2008 (National Center for Health Statistics)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Osteoporosis (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Osteoporotic Fractures (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Measurement of Distal Ulnar Hounsfield Units Accurately Predicts Bone Mineral...
• Article: Association factor analysis between osteoporosis with cerebral artery disease: The...
• Article: Beyond bone mineral density, FRAX-based tailor-made intervention thresholds for therapeutic...
• Osteoporosis -- see more articles
• Prevention and treatment of osteoporosis -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• What Is Bone? (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)

Find an Expert

• National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Also in Spanish
• National Institutes of Health Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases~National Resource Center (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)

Children

• How Does Physical Activity Help Build Healthy Bones? (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)
• Osteoporosis (Nemours Foundation)

Men

• Osteoporosis in Men (Hormone Health Network) - PDF
• Osteoporosis in Men (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)

Women

• Exercise and Bone Health for Women: The Skeletal Risk of Overtraining (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)
• Osteoporosis and Asian American Women (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)
• Osteoporosis and Hispanic Women (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)
• Osteoporosis: Peak Bone Mass in Women (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)
• Pregnancy, Breastfeeding, and Bone Health (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)

Seniors

• Eldercare at Home: Bone Weakness (AGS Foundation for Health in Aging)
• Osteoporosis (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)
• Osteoporosis in Aging: Protect Your Bones with Exercise (National Institutes of Health)

Patient Handouts

• Bone mineral density test (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Calcium, vitamin D, and your bones (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Exercise, lifestyle, and your bones (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Medicines for osteoporosis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Osteoporosis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• What causes bone loss? (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish