Bone Loss: Tallying Your Risk

The more of the following risk factors you have, the more likely you are to have or develop osteoporosis:

• A fracture not related to major trauma.
• A family history of osteoporosis or fractures.
• Increasing age over 65.
• Early menopause.
• For women, being postmenopausal (or having had their ovaries removed).
• For men, abnormally low levels of testosterone—for instance, because of treatment for prostate cancer.
• Smoking, past or present.
• Being white, Hispanic, or Asian.
• Being small-boned or underweight (usually defined for women as less thanabout 127 pounds or BMI under 20).
• Above-average loss of height.
• Getting little weight-bearing exercise.
• Celiac disease, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, COPD, rheumatoid arthritis, anorexia, and certain other chronic disorders.
• Long-term use of drugs such as certain anticonvulsants, corticosteroids, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs, for reflux disease), or excessive thyroid hormones.
• Inadequate consumption of calcium, vitamin D, and other bone-building nutrients.
• Heavy alcohol consumption (which weakens bones and increases the risk of falls).