Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis
Elderly woman with osteoporosis showing a curved back from compression fractures of her back bones.
Pronunciation	/ˌɒstioʊpəˈroʊsᵻs, -pɔː-/
Classification and external resources
Specialty	Rheumatology
ICD-10	M80-M82
ICD-9-CM	733.0
OMIM	166710
DiseasesDB	9385
MedlinePlus	000360
eMedicine	med/1693 ped/1683 pmr/94 pmr/95
Patient UK	Osteoporosis
MeSH	D010024
[]

Osteoporosis is a disease where decreased bone strength increases the risk of a broken bone. It is the most common reason for a broken bone among the elderly. Bones that commonly break include the back bones, the bones of the forearm, and the hip. Until a broken bone occurs there are typically no symptoms. Bones may weaken to such a degree that a break may occur with minor stress or spontaneously. Chronic pain and a decreased ability to carry out normal activities may occur following a broken bone.

Osteoporosis may be due to lower than normal peak bone mass and greater than normal bone loss. Bone loss increases after menopause due to lower levels of estrogen. Osteoporosis may also occur due to a number of diseases or treatments including alcoholism, anorexia, hyperthyroidism, surgical removal of the ovaries, and kidney disease. Certain medications increase the rate of bone loss including some antiseizure medications, chemotherapy, proton pump inhibitors, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and steroids. Not enough exercise and smoking are also risk factors. Osteoporosis is defined as a bone density of 2.5 standard deviations below that of a young adult. This is typically measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at the hip.

...
Wikipedia