Osteoporosis can happen in both women and men. The truth is that at least one in two women and up to one in four men over the age 50 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in their remaining lifetime. Some ethnicities are more prone to osteoporosis than others. For example, osteoporosis is more common in Caucasian and Asian women.
The number of Canadians with osteoporosis is staggering. Almost 2 million Canadians suffer from this disease.
Women are often diagnosed with osteoporosis after menopause when estrogen declines following menopause or when an insufficient dietary intake of calcium and vitamin D causes an imbalance between the removal of old bone and the creation of new bone, making bones weaker and more likely to break.
There are many women living with osteoporosis and are at a high risk for fracture that have not been diagnosed yet. Osteoporosis develops slowly, without pain or noticeable symptoms – often the first sign is a broken bone. Download and complete this checklist to see if you are at risk of osteoporosis, and be sure to talk to your doctor.