Osteoporosis Types

Types of Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis occurs due to the slow degeneration of bones. A stage comes when the bones become so fragile and week that they can break even while performing the day-to-day tasks such as climbing stairs, bending and lifting things. There are two types of osteoporosis, primary and secondary osteoporosis. Primary osteoporosis is mainly related to age and secondary osteoporosis is related to diseases. Before understanding the primary and secondary types of osteoporosis, it is important to understand the composition and creation of bones.

Bones in our body are made up of two elements, type-I collagen protein and calcium phosphate. The collagen proteins initially form a protein framework. This framework is spongy when it is created but gradually it hardens because of calcium phosphate additions to it. The calcium phosphate compound makes the bones both flexible and strong. The new bones in our body keeps forming and old bones are continuously replaced by the new bones. This process is very slow but continuous. During this process the protein framework made up of collagen proteins is breaks down by the cells called osteoclasts and the new cells called osteoblasts starts forming the new bone.

In osteoporosis, the process of regeneration of bones slows down and the bones become brittle. Although in both types of osteoporosis, the regeneration and deterioration of bones follow the same process but the causes of both the types of osteoporosis are different.

Primary Osteoporosis

The primary osteoporosis occurs naturally as the age increases in both men and women. In women it is also caused due to the degeneration of estrogen level after the age of 50 when menopause is over. The primary osteoporosis can be further subdivided into type I and type II osteoporosis based on the amount of calcium left in the skeleton and the amount of risk of factures in bones.

The type I osteoporosis is mainly caused in women due to degeneration of estrogen level between the age of 50 and 70 after menopause. In this age the resoprtion of bone increases causing low density of bones. This type of osteoporosis occurs in 5% to 20% women. The type I osteoporosis leads to factures in vertebrate, spine, hip, and wrists with a small pressure caused by falls or minor injuries. Women are more at risk in this category as compared to men.

Type II osteoporosis occurs in women twice as frequently as in men. It occurs mostly at the age of 70 in the same degree of severity in both men and women. It happens when the balance between the resoprtion and formation of bone disrupts immensely and resoprtion overpowers formation of bones. It may also occur when the deficiency of Vitamin D arises in body due to age factor. Type II osteoporosis causes fractures in femoral neck, vertebrae, proximal humerus, proximal tibia, and pelvis. In some cases a patient may be affected by both type I and type II osteoporosis.

Secondary Osteoporosis

The main cause of secondary osteoporosis is not related to age. secondary osteoporosis can be caused due to many reasons, which include hormonal imbalance, certain medications such as corticosteroids, and certain diseases endocrine disease. Secondary osteoporosis can also be caused due to a number of other conditions, such as excessive alcoholism, epilepsy, and chronic liver or kidney diseases. Secondary osteoporosis can also be caused due to genetic disorders, such as Marfan’s and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.