Journal of Bone Research and Reports

Osteopenia may be a condition that begins as you lose bone mass and your bones get weaker. It is quite common as you age. Osteomalacia, osteitis, and degenerative joint disease square measure totally different conditions that square measure often times confused with osteopenia as a result of they sound similar. malacia may be a disorder of the mineralization of fresh fashioned bone, that causes the bone to be weak and additional vulnerable to fracture. There square measure several causes of malacia, together with viosterol deficiency and low blood phosphate levels. Osteitis is bone infection. Degenerative joint disease doesn't cause osteopenia, pathology, or a attenuate bone mineral density.

Osteopenia is vital as a result of it will cause bone fractures. individuals with osteopenia aren't as possible to fracture a bone as those with osteoporosis; but, as a result of there square measure more individuals with osteopenia than pathology, patients with osteopenia account for an oversized range of patients World Health Organization fracture a bone. In different words, whereas pathology indicates bone that's additional vulnerable to fracture and folks with pathology have the next proportion risk of fracture than osteopenia, attributable to the abundant larger range with osteopenia there is a bigger total range of fractures in these people.

Bone fractures thanks to osteopenia and pathology square measure vital as a result of they will be terribly painful, though some spinal (vertebral) fractures square measure painless.

In addition to the pain, hip fractures square measure a significant downside as a result of they need surgical repair. Also, several patients need long-run nursing-home care when a hip fracture. Fractures, particularly within the old, square measure related to a rise in overall mortality death rate. A big proportion of individuals die within the year following hip fracture, thanks to complications together with blood clots associated with immobility, pneumonia, and plenty of different reasons.

Causes

New bone grows whereas previous bone breaks down and your body absorbs it. Once you’re young, you grow new bone quicker than your body breaks down previous  bone. This contributes to a high bone mass. Once your body starts to interrupt down previous bone quicker than it creates new bone, your bone mass begins to decrease. Loss of bone mass weakens your bones and might cause them to interrupt. The start of this decline is thought as osteopenia. For a few individuals, it will result in pathology that is additional menacing.

Women square measure additional possible to own osteopenia than men. This can be thanks to many factors. Ladies have a lower bone mass overall and absorb less atomic number 20 than men do. They conjointly tend to measure longer. In women, the speed of bone loss hurries up when climacteric as steroid levels fall. Since the ovaries create steroid, quicker bone loss can occur if each ovaries square measure removed by surgery

Symptoms

Most people World Health Organization have osteopenia do not have symptoms. Loss of bone mass isn’t painful. Broken bones or fractures will occur, however these issues tend to happen once you've got pathology.

Diagnosis

In order to diagnose osteopenia, your doctor can do a bone density take a look at. One form of take a look at may be a dualenergy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA or DXA). The result will tell if you have got osteopenia or pathology, or if your bones square measure traditional. The lower your score, the upper your risk of bone breakage. A T-score under -2.5 is labeled pathology.

According to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, all ladies over sixty five years previous ought to have a bone density take a look at. Ladies underneath sixty five years previous ought to be tested furthermore if they’re at high risk. Treatment for osteopenia starts with changes to your fashion. Your doctor can need you to extend your physical activity. Weight-bearing exercise will facilitate strengthen your bones. It can also build muscle and improve your balance that facilitate stop against broken bones.

Samples of weight-bearing exercise embrace walking, jogging, and mounting steps.

Osteopenia is diagnosed victimization measures of Bone Mineral Density (BMD). The take a look at suggested by the National pathology Foundation to live BMD is that the twin energy X-ray absorptiometry scan or DXA scan formerly called DEXA scan. A DXA scan measures BMD within the hip (femoral neck), spine, and generally the carpus. These locations square measure chosen as a result of these square measure frequent sites of bone fracture. The DXA may be a terribly correct predictor of future fracture risk.