How is menopause related to Osteoporosis?
In women, the balance between bone building and bone loss is disturbed during menopause due to the hormonal changes occurring at this time. When you are younger, your body produces hormones like estrogen to prepare you for pregnancy. During menopause, however, the level of estrogen produced in your body begins to drop. This drop leads to a faster breakdown of bone tissue and the tissue being replaced can not keep pace with it. In fact, during the first five years after menopause, some women may lose as much as 25 percent of their bone density. In many women, this bone loss is severe enough to make bones weak and fragile. This causes Osteoporosis. A surgical menopause, which occurs in women who have undergone a surgical removal of ovaries, leads to similar hormonal changes and thereby increases risk of Osteoporosis.
