2 Reasons Why Osteoporosis Is More Common in Women

The statistics surrounding bone loss and fractures among the aging population are nothing short of eye-opening. To start, 10 million Americans have osteoporosis, and another 44 million people have low bone density. 

Breaking these numbers down further, about half of women will experience a fracture due to osteoporosis (compared to one-quarter of men), which is a higher incident rate than heart attack, stroke, and breast cancer combined.

So why are women in the direct line of fire when it comes to osteoporosis and bone loss? To answer this question, we turn to the highly skilled team of board-certified OB/GYNs here at Bay Area Physicians for Women’s Health. 

Osteoporosis 101

People often think that bones are inanimate objects inside our body and, once they form, they simply stay that way throughout your life.

The reality is that the bones in your body are constantly remodeling and rebuilding themselves, so these hard tissues are live tissues with cellular turnover. During your teens, 20s, and 30s, your body builds new bone at a good rate, replacing lost bone quickly. After the age of 35, however, your bone tissues break down faster than your body can replace them, which leads to a gradual loss in bone density.

This bone loss becomes more acute as you age, leaving them porous, brittle, and prone to fracture. Some of the more common osteoporosis-related bone fractures occur in the hips, the spine, the shoulder, and the ribs.

All of what we describe above occurs in far more women than men, and we get into why this gender disparity exists next.

Why women experience more osteoporosis

We’ve mentioned that women are at least twice as likely than men to have osteoporosis or low bone density, and there are two primary reasons for this:

1. Bones in women are naturally smaller and weaker

Right from the start, women are at a disadvantage when it comes to bone issues because, on average, women have smaller and less dense bones than those found in men.

2. Menopause

Perhaps the larger issue among women is the passage through menopause and the loss of estrogen. In fact, some women lose up to 25% of their bone mass in the first decade after menopause.

Although your estrogen hormones are your primary reproductive hormones, they also regulate other areas of your health, such as your bone health. More specifically, estrogen hormones regulate bone metabolism by promoting osteoblasts — the cells that create new bone. So, when your estrogen levels drop off after menopause, your bones don’t remodel themselves quickly enough to keep up with age-related bone loss.

Keeping your bones healthy and strong

Since we know that women face a far greater risk for osteoporosis, we can take action to offset the bone loss. To start, we can run a bone density test to see where you are in terms of bone loss.

From there, we can tailor a treatment plan that can help you maintain strong bones. Some potential treatments include:

• Hormone replacement therapy to keep estrogen levels up
• Ensuring you’re getting enough calcium and vitamin D 
• Prescription medications for bone loss
• Exercising more, which can strengthen bones
• Ditching habits that are bad for bone health, namely smoking and drinking

In most cases, we recommend some combination of these treatments, and we’re happy to sit with you to figure out which ones are best for your osteoporosis and bone loss.

To get on the road to improved bone health, please contact our office in Mobile, Alabama, to schedule an appointment with one of our women’s health experts.