Causes of osteoporosis

Osteoporosis develops when the balance between bone loss and bone formation tips toward loss. Several factors contribute.

Main causes and risk factors

• Ageing: peak bone mass is reached in the late twenties to thirties, and bone slowly declines after that.
• Menopause: falling oestrogen speeds bone loss in the first years after menopause.
• Low calcium and vitamin D: common in India, due to diet and limited safe sun exposure.
• Low physical activity: bone strengthens with weight-bearing load.
• Family history: a parent with a hip fracture raises your risk.
• Low body weight or eating disorders
• Smoking and heavy alcohol use
• Medicines: long-term oral steroids, some anti-seizure drugs, certain cancer and acid-suppressing medicines
• Medical conditions: thyroid or parathyroid overactivity, diabetes, coeliac disease, kidney or liver disease, rheumatoid arthritis
• Low testosterone in men

Ayurvedic view

Ayurveda attributes bone wasting to Vata increase with age, poor digestion and absorption (Agni), dry and insufficient diet, and stress or overexertion. This is an interpretive view, not a proven mechanism.

What you can change

Diet, activity, smoking, alcohol and medicine review with your doctor.

See a doctor if you have taken steroid tablets for over three months, or have early menopause.

When to get help

Speak with your doctor or an orthopaedic, endocrinology or rheumatology clinic if you have had a fracture from a minor fall, lose height, or develop a stooped back. Checking bone health early, with a DEXA scan where advised, lets you start the right plan before a break happens.

Remember

Many causes are modifiable. Build bone early and protect it later.