National Women's Health Week--Osteoporosis Risks

I face an increased risk of osteoporosis.  Do you?  I recognize my risk factors are these:  being a white, postmenopausal woman of small stature whose mother had osteoporosis.  I have not started shrinking in height yet, but I recognize the danger I face.  I recently had a bone density test done.

Have you had a dexa bone density test?  How often should you have one done?  The baseline recommendation says at age 50-64 you should talk to your doctor/health care provider about having one done.  That’s true.  However, if you are at risk of osteoporosis like me, your doctor will recommend when and how often to have this test done.  My doctor wants me to have a bone density test done yearly. 

Other risk factors we cannot control include our age (especially being over 65 years of age), having auto-immune illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis or type-1 diabetes which involve medications (glucocorticoids) that increase the risk of osteoporosis.  

Risk factors we can control:  smoking, drinking too much alcohol (a maximum of one drink/day for a woman), skipping calcium and vitamin D rich foods and not exercising.  

Our bones are living tissue and our body constantly breaks down old bone and builds new bone.  We can add lifestyle things which will give our body the ingredients it needs to build strong bones.  These ingredients include:  calcium and vitamin D every day, a healthy diet and exercise.  More information can be found at Womenshealth.gov http://www.womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/osteoporosis.cfm

As women we care for our loved ones.  Are you caring for your body?  For a copy of Women’s health checklist, go to http://www.menshealthnetwork.org/library/pdfs/GetItChecked.pdf