EVISTA is indicated for the treatment of osteoporosis in women past menopause.
Because osteoporosis is more common after menopause, now is an important time to take steps to reduce the risk of spine fracture. When you talk to your doctor, this information can help guide the discussion about ways you can reduce your risk of spine fracture.
About Osteoporosis
As women age, they are more susceptible to spine fracture due to decreased bone mass. Bone mass begins to decline at a steady rate until after menopause, when the rate of bone loss may increase significantly. Once bone loss reaches a certain point, low bone mass becomes osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis Risk
The risk factors for osteoporosis include:
- Family history of osteoporosis
- Female of advancing age
- Cigarette smoking
- Excessive use of alcohol
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Low calcium diet
- Caucasian or Asian descent
- Slender body build
- Early menopause
Women with osteoporosis are more likely to experience a spine fracture than women without osteoporosis. And once they experience a spine fracture, the risk of experiencing another spine fracture increases.
Bone Turn-Over Rate
Bone undergoes a continuous cycle of resorption and formation. Old bone is routinely "resorbed," or carried away, by your body as part of its normal function. At the same time, new bone is formed in your skeleton. The rate of old bone resorption and new bone formation changes over time. As you go through your childhood and teen years, new bone is added faster than old bone is resorbed, resulting in overall bone growth. Most women acquire a majority of their bone mass by age 18, which peaks by age 30. This is when your bones are the most dense and strong.
After age 30, the process very slowly reverses, meaning that more bone is carried away than is formed. This results in overall bone loss, which can continue as you age. When bone resorption happens too quickly, or new bone grows too slowly, a person may reach the point of developing osteoporosis. The disease is more likely to develop if you did not acquire the best bone mass during your bone-building years.
Note: EVISTA is only indicated for women past menopause.
Stages of Bone Loss
- Decreased Estrogen Causes Bone Loss: Since the hormone estrogen helps protect against bone loss, less estrogen in your body results in more bone loss. That's why the years after menopause—when a woman's ovaries stop producing estrogen—is the time of life when bone loss is most rapid. In fact, women can lose up to 20% of their bone mass in the 5 to 7 years following menopause.
- Low Bone Mass May Become Osteoporosis: When you reach a point where you have significantly less bone than normal, you have a condition called low bone mass. With further bone loss, your bones may no longer have a normal structure. At this point you would have osteoporosis.
- Osteoporotic Bones Can Break Easily: Osteoporotic bones are thin and fragile, and can break easily. Once you experience one spine fracture, the risk of experiencing another spine fracture increases significantly.