If insufficient calcium and other bone minerals are accrued in the first three decades of life maximum bone density achieved will be suboptimal and even the aging process will place any such person at risk of osteoporosis whilst still a relatively young adult. Some researchers have found reduced bone mineral content common at all ages in people with CF, suggesting the importance of decreased accretion of bone mineral content as well as increased loss. The pattern of complications from osteoporosis in older patients with CF has been found to be similar to that in the non-CF population but seen about thirty years earlier. Osteoporosis shows a definite relationship with disease severity being common in patients on the transplant list and following transplant surgery. This remains in part the associated post-operative inactivity and high dose corticosteroids treatment given for rejection episodes.
Thin bones fracture easily.
As bone density falls the risk of fracture rises. In the late stages of CF, most patients will have osteoporosis and it is a common find in patients referred for lung transplant. Fractures occurring even in the absence of accidental injury may complicate the postoperative course after lung transplant and impair patients' quality of life through resulting debility and pain. Osteoporotic bones in the spine are susceptible to 'compression' fracture so that they collapse between the bones above and below. This can be very painful, especially if nerves are trapped within the resulting disorganised structure.