Assessment of Secondary Osteoporosis

Abstract

The first step is the separation of “primary” or “idiopathic” from the “secondary” osteoporoses which have an underlying cause, i.e. a specific disease or disorder. “Primary” osteoporosis refers mainly to postmenopausal and age-related involutional osteoporoses, in spite of the fact that a number of factors contributing to their pathogenesis are already known. Secondary osteoporoses are responsible for about 20% of all osteoporotic fractures. Secondary causes of osteoporosis, i.e. as co-morbidities, are also frequent in older patients who already have primary involutional osteoporosis. Physicians should consider the possible causes of secondary osteoporosis particularly when patients present as follows with.