Osteoporosis is a disease that can cause bone fractures due to brittle or weak bones. As opposed to osteoarthritis where there can be too much bone, patients with osteoporosis have too little bone. Osteoporosis is a major health threat for 44 million Americans, 68 percent of whom are women, according to the NIH Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases National Resource Center.

• Osteoporosis Risk Factors
• Bone Up on Osteoporosis
• Are You at Risk for Weak Bones?
• Osteoporosis vs. Osteoarthritis: Similar Names, Different Conditions

There is an increased risk of osteoporosis in patients with rheumatic conditions such as:

• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Systemic lupus erythematosus
• Sjogren's syndrome
• Scleroderma

Osteoporosis is considered a "silent disease" because the disease process can be silent (i.e. without symptoms for years or even decades). You cannot feel your bones becoming weak. It's a harse reality that some of the drugs we take to treat arthritis, especially the corticosteroids, also wreak havoc on our bones. We asked rheumatologist Scott J. Zashin, M.D. to explain, What Should People With Arthritis Be Doing to Prevent Osteoporosis?

More Related Resources:

• Osteoporosis Screening Quiz
• Guide to Osteoporosis in Men
• The Lupus–Osteoporosis Link
• The Rheumatoid Arthritis–Osteoporosis Link
• Rheumatic Disease Increases Risk of Osteoporosis
• Osteoporosis Frequency Lower in Men Than Women With RA
• Corticosteroid-Induced Osteoporosis: What You Need to Know

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