Osteoporosis is a bone disease best described as "porous bones." Bones are living tissue, constantly being rebuilt. With osteoporosis, the rate of bone loss is greater than that of bone rebuilding, causing thin, porous bones that break easily.

Healthy Bone		Osteoporosis Bone

More than 44 million Americans have osteoporosis or low bone mass. In Arizona, that number is 810,000 - nearly one-fifth of our total population, including children!

Osteoporosis causes pain, disability, loss of independence, and can lead to death. Twenty-five percent of individuals who break a hip don't live through the first year. Click to view a video on Osteoporosis Fractures Vary by Age.

Your bones develop in stages. From birth through adolescence, new bone is built faster than old bone is removed, so bones grow larger and denser. During adolescence, bones grow stronger at an even faster pace than before. Bone mass peaks between ages 20 and 25, then bone loss can outpace formation. After menopause in women, bone loss accelerates because of a decline in estrogen, a hormone that helps protect bones. Click to view a video on Peak Bone Mass and Bone Loss.

The risk for osteoporosis increases if too little bone is formed during youth, or too much is lost later in life, or both. Size and quality of bone may be genetically determined, but other factors also influence bone health. A family history of osteoporosis or bone fractures, a lifelong low-calcium diet, Caucasian or Asian heritage, lack of exercise, low body weight relative to your height, smoking, drinking excess alcohol, lack of menstruation, and taking certain medications are all risk factors for osteoporosis.

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