Osteoporosis risk increased with shorter gap between births, says study

Women who have babies lessthan a year apart could be at higher risk of bone disease when they're older according to anew study from the Yale School of Medicine.

The study found the risk for osteoporosis quadrupled for these women later in life, a higher risk than in women whowaited longer between pregnancies.

The Yale researcherscompared the reproductive history of more than 500 post-menopausal women with and without osteoporosis.

Theylooked at how many children both groups of women had, and how long they waited between pregnancies.

Osteoporosisis a condition characterized by bone loss, associated with low calcium levels. Calcium, which is a naturally occurring chemical in the body,isdepleted in pregnant women,according toCalgary doctor Raj Bhardwaj.

Hesays asimple wayto understand how calcium works in your body is to imagine that it's money.

As you build morecalcium equity throughout your life, your body stores it inabank and that bank is your bones.

"Calcium from a pregnant woman's bank gets used in building the bones of the baby.So it's a huge withdrawal over time. And then if you make another big withdrawal, within two years, according to this study, then you never really catch up on the savings," he said.

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However, the Calgary Eyeopener medical contributor says Yale researchers did not not look at things like diet, exercise and the use of birth control pills factors that Bhardwaj says can also affect a woman's risk of developing the bone disease as they age.

Osteoporosis prevention

While the study suggests women should wait two years before planning another child, if you've already gone down that path don't panic.

Bhardwaj says there are plenty of ways to maintain and build bones:

• "Weight-bearing exercise puts stress on your bones, and that makes your bones stronger," said Bhardwaj, who suggests walking or runningif pumping iron just isn't your thing.
• Be like Popeye and eat your spinach.Other calcium-rich foods include beans, kale, collard greens, almonds.
• Take Vitamin D supplements daily to help your bones absorb calcium.
• Don't smoke (in case you needed another reason to quit.)
• Watch your alcohol intake. Bhardwaj says having more than two drinks per day increases your risk of developing osteoporosis.