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Osteoporosis is a disease that weakens bones to the point that they become fragile and break easily. Women and men who have it most often break bones in the hip, spine, and wrist, but any bone can be affected, according to the National Institutes of Health. There are no symptoms of osteoporosis until a fracture occurs. That is why it is often called “the silent disease.”

Certain factors can put you at risk for developing osteoporosis. However, while you can’t change some of the factors, others are preventable. Here then are the risk factors, preventable and not, compiled from the Mayo Clinic and National Institutes of Health Web sites:

Risk factors you can’t change

• Your gender. Fractures from osteoporosis are about twice as common in women as they are in men. Women start out with lower bone mass, tend to live longer, and experience a sudden drop in estrogen at menopause that accelerates bone loss. Men who have low levels of the male hormone testosterone also are at increased risk.
• Age. The older you get, the higher your risk, because your bones become weaker as you age.
• Race. Whites and Asians have the highest risk.
• Family history. The disease runs in families.
• Frame size. Men and women who are exceptionally thin or have small body frames tend to have higher risk because they may have less bone mass to draw from as they age.
• Exposure to estrogen. The greater a woman’s lifetime exposure to estrogen, the lower her risk of osteoporosis. For example, the risk is lower for women who have a late menopause or began menstruating at an earlier-than-average age. The risk is higher for women who had infrequent menstrual periods or an early menopause (before age 45).
• Breast cancer. Postmenopausal women who have had breast cancer are at increased risk, especially if they were treated with chemotherapy or aromatase inhibitors such as anastrozole and letrozole, which suppress estrogen. Tamoxifen, however, may reduce the risk of fractures.
• Immobility due to a medical condition.
• History of a previous fracture.

Risk factors you can change

• Excess soda consumption. The link between osteoporosis and caffeinated sodas isn't clear, but caffeine may interfere with calcium absorption and its diuretic effect may increase mineral loss, according to the Mayo Clinic. In addition, the phosphoric acid in soda may contribute to bone loss by changing the acid balance in your blood.
• Smoking. Tobacco use contributes to weak bones.
• Eating disorders. Women and men with anorexia nervosa or bulimia are at higher risk of lower bone density in their lower backs and hips.
• Diet. You need a diet rich in calcium, vitamin D, protein, and other vitamins and minerals.
• Sedentary lifestyle. Exercise throughout life is important, but you can increase your bone density at any age.
• Chronic alcoholism. Excess consumption reduces bone formation and interferes with the body’s ability to absorb calcium.
• Depression. People who experience serious depression have increased rates of bone loss.
• Malabsorption of calcium due to medical conditions and procedures: stomach surgery (gastrectomy), Crohn’s disease, celiac disease, vitamin D deficiency, anorexia nervosa, and Cushing’s disease.
• Medications (ask your doctor to recommend drugs that can help prevent bone loss from these medications and from other medical issues):

  • Corticosteroids. Long-term use of prednisone, cortisone, prednisolone, and dexamethasone is damaging to bone. These medications are common treatments for chronic conditions, such as asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis.
  • Thyroid hormone. Too much can cause bone loss. You get too much when your thyroid is overactive (hyperthyroidism) or because you take excess amounts of thyroid hormone medication to treat an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism).
  • Other medications. Bone loss can be caused by long-term use of the blood-thinning medication heparin, the cancer treatment drug methotrexate, some anti-seizure medications, diuretics, and aluminum-containing antacids.