The risk factors that we cannot control include of the following:
1.Gender: women are more likely to get diagnosed with osteoporosis than men. This is due to the reduction of estrogen levels during menopause. The hormonal change that occurs in the menopause directly affects bone density. The female hormone estrogen is essential for healthy bones. After the menopause of the stop of monthly periods the estrogen levels fall which can lead to rapid decrease in bone density. Adding on, an early menopause (before the age of 45), a hysterectomy (removal of the womb) before the age of 45, particularly when the ovaries are also removed and the absent periods or irregular cycles are factors for women that could lead to low bone mass. It is not very common in men; however when it happens to men it could be due to the low levels of testosterone (a male hormone) which keeps the bone healthy. Reduction in this hormone could be due to other factors such as alcohol intake, use of certain medicines, and hypogonadism (a condition that abnormally causes low testosterone levels).
2.Age: the older you are the greater the risk factor of getting osteoporosis because of the loss in bone components such as calcium and potassium.
3.Body size, small thin people are likely to get osteoporosis
4.Ethnicity: White and Asian women are at a higher risk
5.Family history/heredity: if it runs in the family then it is likely for the generation to come to obtain it. Also, if a mother carrying a child in the womb has got osteoporosis it is likely to affect the child later on.
6.Types of medications: Glucocorticoids (corticosteroids) medicines used to treat asthma, certain types of arthritis, and autoimmune conditions. These drugs interfere with bone formations and the use of calcium by the body.
Cancer treatments: chemotherapy, hormonal therapies, and other cancer treatments that affect the levels of reproductive hormones in your body can increase osteoporosis risk because these hormones help protect bones.