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How pollution can increase the risk of osteoporosis

Researchers now say it may be another risk factor, in addition to poor diet, lack of exercise and smoking.

7 min
Smog hangs over Los Angeles on a day rated as having "moderate" air quality. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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Experts have told women for a long time that certain medical conditions and habits, including poor diet, lack of exercise and smoking, make osteoporosis more likely. Now research has added another risk factor to the list: pollution.

Poor bone health has been linked in recent years to heavy metals, such as lead and cadmium, to “forever chemicals” used in hundreds of everyday products, as well as to particulate matter and nitrogen oxides in the air we breathe.