Osteoporosis-related hip fractures have the greatest effect on disability and death. A woman's risk of fracturing a hip is equal to her combined risk of developing cancers of the breast, uterus and ovaries. Osteoporosis is a disease without symptoms. Often a woman and her physician find out she has osteoporosis after a fracture occurs. That is why prevention and the early identification of women at risk for osteoporosis are important.
All women can decrease their risk of developing osteoporosis by taking preventive measures now.
Getting adequate amounts of calcium and vitamin D, not smoking, and doing weight-bearing exercise can help increase the strength and fracture resistance of your bones. Such preventive measures are especially important in adolescent girls and young women since bone mass usually peaks around age 30 and slowly declines afterwards. If you are at risk, your physician may refer you for a bone density test. A bone density test is used to measure bone density of a specific area, such as the hip, spine or forearm. To determine if you have osteoporosis, or are at risk of developing osteoporosis, your bone density measurement is compared to the bone density measurement of an average healthy woman aged 30.