Osteoporosis: Causes

This information was reviewed and approved by Mehrnaz Maleki Fischbach, MD (7/1/2019).

Some people are more likely to develop osteoporosis than others. Factors that increase the chance of developing osteoporosis are called "risk factors."

What are the causes of osteoporosis?

Risk factors include:

Being female
Having a thin and/or small frame
Getting older
Having a family member with osteoporosis
Leading an inactive lifestyle
Eating a diet low in calcium and vitamin D
Using alcohol on a regular basis
Smoking tobacco
Going through menopause
Low testosterone levels (in men)
Being of Caucasian or Asian ancestry, though African Americans and Hispanic Americans are at risk as well
Using certain medicines, such as corticosteroids and anti-seizure medications
Having a medical condition that impairs calcium absorption, such as disorders of the stomach and intestines, liver or kidney

Normally women, and normally postmenopausal women, so the hypothesis is possibly lack of hormones after menopause can predispose women to this condition, but also people who are smokers or drinking alcohol or caffeine excessively, as well as some endocrine problem like thyroid or parathyroid disorders and lack of exercise and sedentary lifestyle.

Normally that used to be a disease of women, but now we realize that men that who have been smokers, they have a significant amount of osteoporosis.

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