Risk factors Osteoporosis is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. It appears to be a result of the ageing process in some people who have several of the risk factors. Women who are underweight, physically inactive, or have a family history of the disease are at greater risk. Women who smoke or drink beverages with alcohol or caffeine increase their chances of bone loss. Incidence In the United States there may be about 25 million people with osteoporosis.
Women are four times as likely as men to get osteoporosis.
This is because as women age, the bone-strengthening hormones that are made in the ovaries are no longer produced. However, reduced hormone production alone is not a cause of osteoporosis. Symptoms you are likely to notice Some of the noticeable signs of osteoporosis are back pain, loss of height, stooped posture, or noticeable curvature of the spine. Each of these symptoms occurs because the vertebras, the small bones that make up the spine, have lost bone mass to the point where they have begun to collapse on one another. Another symptom is a bone break or fracture caused by a light fall.