Osteopenia is not a disease but rather a marker of increased risk for the development of osteoporosis and fractures of the hip, spine and wrist. As people age, bones normally become weaker and less dense. If bone strength is visually represented by a slope, then normal density is at the top of the hill and osteoporosis is at the bottom. Osteopenia will fall somewhere in the middle of the hill.
Risk Factors
In young adults, bone tissue continues to grow at a faster pace than it is broken down by the body. However, as people age, this process slowly reverses, and loss of bone occurs at a greater rate than it is manufactured. According to the University of Michigan Health System, osteopenia is more common in women after age 50 than in men. Women start with less bone mass than men and then lose it faster. Lifestyle choices that increase the risk of development include cigarette smoking, low body weight, alcoholism, too little calcium in the diet, long periods of bed rest, eating disorders and intense exercise.
Tests
The best way to determine the current density of an individual’s bones is a painless and noninvasive test called a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, also called a DXA. This test measures mineral content. The measurement is given as a T-score and compares an individual number against norms in the same age, weight and gender brackets. Although there will not be a large numerical difference between normal numbers and those that indicate osteoporosis, the physician will evaluate the rate at which the numbers change and the category in which they fall in order to recommend appropriate treatments.
Treatment
Although there is no cure, a number of different medications can slow the process of bone loss, according to physicians at Mayo Clinic. Medications, hormones, physical therapy and lifestyle choices can slow the loss and possibly prevent the development of osteoporosis. Drug options include biophosphonates, raloxifene, calcitonin and teriparatide. Women who take estrogen soon after menopause to maintain bone density also face challenges with blood clots, endometrial cancer and breast cancers as side effects of the estrogen supplementation. Lifestyle changes that can make a difference include exercise, stop smoking and drinking alcohol, care to prevent falls and maintaining good posture.
Complications
If allowed to progress untreated, osteopenia can develop into osteoporosis. Physicians at the University of Maryland warn patients that osteoporosis is a major cause of disability and death in the elderly, mostly from fractures. The lifetime risk of a spinal fracture in women is approximately one in three and for a hip fracture is one in six. About 50 percent of women and 25 percent of men over 50 will suffer an osteoporosis-related fracture.
Prevention
People manufacture more bone in younger years than in their older years. The more bone that is manufactured between the ages of 12 and 24, the less chance a person has of developing osteopenia as she agea. According to Harvard Medical School Publications, an individual can increase the amount of bone that is developed by reducing alcohol intake, stopping smoking, increasing calcium and vitamin D intake and participating in a weight-bearing exercise for at least 30 minutes each day. Use of certain medications, such as corticosteroids and anticonvulsants, can also reduce the amount of bone that is developed.
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