What is osteoporosis in the elderly?

What happens to osteoporosis in the elderly?

Elderly people are prone to various problems when they reach a certain age. For example, many elderly people will suffer from osteoporosis, a disease that will seriously affect the patient's life. The general reason is a decrease in hormone levels in the body, followed by reduced calcium intake and vitamin D deficiency, which makes them prone to illness.

What happens to osteoporosis in the elderly?

1. Decreased levels of sex hormones in the body

As the body ages, the functions of the testicles, ovaries and other sex glands of the elderly will gradually decline, and the amount of androgen and estrogen secreted by the sex glands will also decrease accordingly. Lack of sex hormones will disrupt the dynamic balance between bone formation and bone decomposition, slow down the deposition of blood calcium in the bones, accelerate the process of bone calcium conversion to blood calcium, and lead to senile osteoporosis. In this process, the effect of estrogen on bones is more obvious, so osteoporosis is more obvious in elderly women.

2. Reduce calcium intake

Changes in the dietary structure and habits of the elderly, and the decline in gastrointestinal function have correspondingly reduced the amount of calcium entering the body, but the calcium excreted in urine and feces remains unchanged or slightly increases, leading to calcium deficiency.

3. Vitamin D deficiency

Vitamin D plays an indispensable role in the entire process of bone metabolism, but changes in diet and reduced outdoor activities in most elderly people can cause abnormalities in the source and conversion of vitamin D in the body, resulting in relative or absolute deficiency, thereby promoting the occurrence of osteoporosis.

4. Reduce physical activity

Changes in bone formation and bone density are directly related to the stress on the bones. Under a certain stress, bone density will increase, and the thickness of the bone cortex and the density, quantity and quality of the trabeculae will increase. On the contrary, the bones will develop osteoporosis. One of the characteristics of the elderly is that the amount of exercise is significantly reduced, and the intensity of exercise is also reduced, thereby reducing the stress on the bones, causing disuse osteoporosis.