Early diagnosis is difficult because osteoporosis is asymptomatic until it has advanced far enough to actually cause structural failure of the bone.
Most adults lose minerals from bone steadily throughout their life.
In women, this bone loss is accelerated for two to five years after menopause, after which the decline slows to previous rate. Bone loss to these women may ultimately be equal to less than half of that found in a young adult. Recent evidence, summarized by Menier et al. The diagnosis of osteoporosis is usually made when crush fractures of the spinal vertebral bodies occur, which consequently leads to loss of height. Cheap, finely powdered calcium carbonate, which is readily available, has the disadvantage of producing carbon and of interfering with digestion.