Osteoporosis is more common in women over the age of sixty-five. This disease is also caused by conditions such as extreme thinness, endocrine disorders, early onset of menopause (climax), and taking medications for a long time.
- Why is osteoporosis more common in the elderly?
- It is known that from birth to the age of 30, a person's bones are strengthened by being saturated with salts and trace elements. As we age, bone volume begins to decrease due to circulatory failure and other causes, leading to osteoporosis.
In fact, bone tissue is constantly renewed and is replaced with a completely new one every ten years. In children and adolescents, up to the age of 18, new bone formation occurs faster than bone loss. Then the speed of these processes is equalized. After the age of 40, bone thinning, that is, bone loss, increases.
- What are the factors leading to osteoporosis?
- Osteoporosis often occurs due to poor absorption of calcium ions in the body. It should be said that calcium ions are constantly destroyed in the body, and new calcium ions are replaced by them. If this balance is disturbed, i.e. new ones do not come in place of the destroyed calcium ions or if they fall less, the bone density decreases.
There are various reasons for this.
First, the activity of calcium-destroying tissues (osteoclasts) increases, and the building tissues (osteoblasts) do not have time to deliver calcium ions.
Secondly, the activity of building tissues can decrease. Thirdly, the activity of osteoclasts and osteoblasts can be disturbed at the same time, and as a result, bone density begins to decrease gradually.
— Do hormonal disorders increase the risk of disease?
- This happens during hormonal changes in the body, i.e. lack of androgen or estrogen hormones (especially during menopause - the period of climax). In women who have had a hysterectomy, the risk of osteoporosis may increase.
Due to the lack of hormones, calcium ions increase the activity of osteoclasts, and in addition, it becomes difficult to digest calcium in the intestine.
In addition to hormonal disorders, diseases of the thyroid gland and adrenal glands in the body stimulate osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is more common in thin, thin, small-built women, because the bones in obese and plump people are strengthened and their density increases accordingly to support the weight.
Lack of vitamin D in the body is also a serious phenomenon. Because this vitamin increases the activity of building tissues. Therefore, people who consume less fish and dairy products with a high content of vitamin D are also prone to osteoporosis. Therefore, it is necessary to consume more products rich in vitamin D.
