What Is Osteoporosis?
A progressive disease, osteoporosis encompasses stages that are marked by the level of thinning of the bones. It often strikes women of advanced age, but men and younger women can be affected by the disease. Until a fracture occurs, symptoms are often invisible and can only be detected through a bone mineral density scan. As humans grow from infancy to middle age, they build bone mass that peaks in the late 20s. After this time, the bones begin to lose mass. Over time, the loss can become severe enough to cause a fracture from daily activities. This is osteoporosis. Several factors contribute to the decrease in bone mass: low estrogen (common after menopause), low dietary calcium, body mass, genetics and a lack of weight-bearing exercises.
Osteopenia
A bone density scan determines the ratio of solid bone material to air pockets. Bone naturally has small pockets of air in its structure. This porousness makes the bones strong but lightweight. When those spaces in the bones increase in size, the solid bone matter decreases, reducing the mass of the bones. This low bone mass increases the risk of fractures, a condition known as osteopenia. A bone mineral density score--known as a T score--between -1 and -2.5 is classified as osteopenia. This occurs before osteoporosis and indicates a high risk of fractures. An estimated 40 percent of all Caucasian postmenopausal women have this condition.
Osteoporosis
Those with osteoporosis have bone mineral density T scores of less than -2.5. This puts them in the highest risk factor for breaking a bone sometime in their life because the solid amount of bone material is decreased and the bones are weaker than in a person with osteopenia or normal bones. Medications, dietary changes and exercises can be prescribed to slow the rate of the bone loss and to prevent a fracture.
Tags: bone mass, bone mineral, bone mineral density, mineral density, bone material, density scan