Risk factors for osteoporosis Sample Clauses

Risk factors for osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is the most prevalent metabolic bone disease that affects an estimated 10 million Americans and 3 million people in the UK over the age of 50 [58,59]. Various risk factors are associated with the development of OP and are categorised as either modifiable or non-modifiable risk factors. The prevalence of OP increases markedly with age and after menopause and by the age of 60, approximately 15% of all women will have OP, with the incidence increasing to over 25% by the age of 80 [56]. Osteoporosis has great personal and economic burden. In Europe, disability due to OP is greater than that caused by cancers (with the exception of lung cancer) and is comparable with or greater than that resulting from a variety of chronic non-communicable diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis [57]. Osteoporosis is often classified as either primary or secondary OP. A diagnosis of primary OP follows the exclusion of chronic disease as an identifiable cause and is associated with the process of normal ageing. It is six times more common in women than men, occurring in women 15 to 20 years after menopause. The loss of bone is linked to oestrogen deficiency in women and a testosterone deficiency in men. There is a rapid loss of trabecular bone in primary OP resulting in the increased risk of vertebral and forearm fracture [58]. Secondary OP is used to define OP where there is a clearly identifiable cause such as disease or prolonged drug use, and it can arise at any age and affect men and women equally. It occurs in almost two-thirds of men, more than half of premenopausal and peri-menopausal women and about one-fifth of postmenopausal women [59].