Senile osteoporosis has been recently recognized as a geriatric syndrome with a particular pathophysiology. There are different classification of osteoporosis: primary, in which bone loss is a result of aging and secondary, in which bone loss occurs from various clinical and lifestyle factors. Primary, or involuntary osteoporosis, can further be classified into Type I or Type II. Type I refers to postmenopausal osteoporosis and is caused by the deficiency of estrogen. While senile osteoporosis is categorized as an involuntary, Type II, and primary osteoporosis, which affects both men and women over the age of 70 years. It is accompanied by vitamin D deficiency, bodys failure to absorb calcium, and increased parathyroid hormone.Research over the years has shown that senile osteoporosis is the product of a skeleton in an advanced stage of life and can be caused by a deficiency caused by calcium. However, physicians are also coming to the conclusion that multiple mechanisms in the development stages of the disease interact together resulting in an osteoporotic bone, regardless of age. Still, elderly people make up the fastest growing population in the world. As bone mass declines with age, the risk of fractures increases. Annual incidence of osteoporotic fractures is more than 1.5 million in the US and notably 20% of people die during the first year after a hip fracture.It costs the US health system around $17 billion annually, with the cost projecting to $50 billion by 2040.
These medications can contribute to bone loss and can increase risk for osteoporotic fractures. Genetic
Maternal body build, lifestyle, and vitamin D status are some of the genetic and epigenetic effects that have been found to affect the BMD, specifically the developmental plasticity.Additionally, other studies have found that race (e.g. Black women have the lowest risk), age (i.e. older age), body mass (i.e. lower weight), and gender (female) play a role in contributing to the risk of osteoporosis. Although the incidence of developing osteoporosis and hip fractures vary between population groups, older age is consistently associated with a higher incidence of fractures due to osteoporosis. Social and nutritional factors
There are several environmental and social factors that can contribute to the risk of developing osteoporosis. Smoking tobacco can increase the risk by decreasing the ability of the intestine to absorb calcium. Caffeine intake and heavy alcohol were also correlated with the decrease in bone density in the elderly population.Without proper intake of vitamin D and calcium, it can increase the risk of osteoporosis in the elderly. These vitamin deficiencies pose as a risk factor, as it can decrease bone mass, decrease calcium absorption, and increase in bone turnover. There are also various medications can that interfere with the absorption of calcium, such as anticonvulsants, diuretics, corticosteroids, immunosuppressive medications, some antibiotics, and NSAIDS.