WOMEN’S
The Silent Killer
W
omen are more prone to osteoporosis as compared to men. They tend to lose more bone
mass due to the decrease in oestrogen levels
after menopause.
You! takes a look...
By 30, your bones are fully stocked, and although your
body will continue to replace old bone cells, there will
be no increase in bone mass past that point. According
to the International Osteoporosis Foundation osteoporosis affects about 200 million women worldwide. Women
start with lower bone density than their male peers and
they lose bone mass more quickly as they age, which
leads to osteoporosis in some women. Between the
ages of 20 and 80, the average woman loses one-third
of her hip bone density, compared to a bone density loss
of only one-fourth in men. According to a report of Pakistan Orthopaedic Association, Society of Obstetricians
and Gynaecologists of Pakistan and Osteoporosis and
Menopause Society, about 80 per cent of those with os-
teoporosis are women past menopause.
What causes osteoporosis?
Your bones are made of living, growing tissue. An outer shell of cortical or dense bone encases trabecular
bone, a sponge-like bone. When a bone is weakened
by osteoporosis, the ‘holes’ in the ‘sponge’ grow larger
and more numerous, weakening the internal structure
of the bone. The word osteoporosis literally means ‘porous bones’, or in other words, bones that are filled with
tiny pores, or holes. The disease often progresses without any symptoms or pain. Many a time, osteoporosis
is not discovered until weakened bones cause painful fractures usually in the back or hips. Unfortunately,
once you have a broken bone due to osteoporosis, you
are at high risk of having another; and these fractures
can be debilitating. In women, menopause is a major
cause of osteoporosis. Women lose bone mass much
more quickly in the years immediately after menopause
than they do at any other t